Hellsing: Global Conflict
by Robert Falcon
Summary: Three years after the defeat of Shalrik, Hellsing's vampires find themselves in a fight against a globe spanning foe. Sequel to Hellsing: A New Child. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing. All I own is what I came up with. This disclaimer applies to the whole story, so I probably won't repeat it.

UPDATE: I'm posting updated chapters for this story. They'll fix my classic grammar errors (if you don't know, don't worry about it), Matt's appearance, a name or two (including Anderson's), and a few other upgrades here and there. I'll transpose a couple of the earlier notes. Few of them make sense anymore. Then it'll be a simple chapter replacement.

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'3…2…1…'

The young man whipped around the corner, bringing a semi-automatic pistol up to aim down the dark, dank corridor. Only air filled his sights. Slowly, quietly, he moved up the corridor, keeping his guard up. One could never tell when the enemy would appear, for this young man was hunting monsters.

It was that mission which had brought the young man to an abandoned factory at the far edge of London's industrial district that night. Monsters were gathering there, and he was needed to take them out. So there he was, a soldier in a hidden war, walking down the dark halls as his footsteps echoed through the darkness.

He approached a door, one like many of that factory. Slowing further, he edged up to the door. He let his right hand lower from the gun and hover near the doorknob. '3…2…1…' He grabbed the knob, twisted his hand, and flung the door open. Bringing his hand back to the gun, he stepped into and swept the room. Nothing. No monsters lurked in these shadows.

The young man stepped back into the corridor, only pausing once to look through a broken window at the distant lights of London. This factory of brick, mortar and iron had stood for ages. It showed its age, with many windows broken and all its equipment gone. However, the building had withstood the test of time, standing alone all those years.

His attention back on the mission, the young man turned and continued up the hall, wary for any sign of his prey. The hallway's corner was just ahead. Bringing his gun toward himself and pointing it to the ceiling, he edged up to the corner. '3…2…1…' He swung around the corner, bringing his gun to bear. Just as quickly, he turned it away. The young woman he'd been aiming at turned her twin pistols away as well. The young man looked her over, ensuring she hadn't been injured in their search.

Her reddish-blond hair was a little out of place do to the night's mission. Her face showed she was in 'combat mode', jaw set and eyes sharp. It was an expression which showed her to be older than her apparent twenty years. She was petite, not seeming the sort of person who should be on such a mission. Her police-style uniform tried to give the image of a cop, but was thwarted by the miniskirt she wore. The young man looked to be the same age, about twenty. He was broader, more muscular. He looked closer to the part of a hunter. His face, though, was calm. He wore blue jeans, and a denim and fabric jacket with a blue t-shirt underneath, giving him the look of just another guy. They both wore a coat of arms at left shoulder and left breast. The two shared one physical trait, red eyes.

These two were vampires, children of the night, bloodsuckers, whatever one wanted to call them. Unlike many, if not most, of their kind they did not drink the blood of the living. They protected humanity from the vampires that did. They were members of the Hellsing Organization, an organization tasked with the elimination of all vampires.

The young man had been a child of darkness for just over three years. Before then he'd been just another college student on a study abroad program to England from Florida. In a visit to a local mall, a badly times flash of curiosity had led to a decision; die, or join Hellsing. He had regretted his decision at times over the years, but he had to admit his life had gotten far more interesting. His name was Matthew Jemeth. He looked at the young woman again. She was Seras Victoria; his friend, his confidant, his partner, and his master. She'd turned him those years ago and had always been ready to help him adjust.

Matthew quickly packaged up his recent thoughts and the results of the sweep of this floor. He included his thoughts on their plan and modifications he wanted to make to it. Looking her in the eyes, he sent the package to her. As he did, he received one from her with similar information. He started to go over it.

The two of them had been working closely together over the years, and had learned several skills that had made them a formidable team. They proved this to Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing nine months before, when they had volunteered to tackle a similar mission, a many ghoul / few vampire clear out, alone. After a complete success with no losses, they became Integra's first choices from then on. Seemed that she agreed with the idea of protecting their human troops when at all possible. The night had already been intense, the piles of ash and ghoul parts on the bottom floor and the surrounding grounds a testament to their earlier activities.

He finished looking over Seras's information, worked up his reply, and sent it back, receiving her reply to his thoughts at the same time. After a quick glance, and seeing her plan was better, he nodded. Seras started toward the stairs. The entire exchange had taken less than five seconds. By earlier agreement, it was Seras's turn to lead to the next floor. She kicked in the door, aiming her twin pistols up to at the next landing, then slowly started to ascent the darkened stairwell. Matthew first swept any possible hiding places with his pistol.

The weapon brought back many memories. It was a Browning High-Power, a nine millimeter pistol. He'd fired one when he was younger, becoming very fond of it. After joining the ranks of Hellsing, he'd requested a pair. They had become his weapons of choice whenever he was in a tight environment. After seeing his effectiveness with them, Seras had requested a pair of pistols, though had opted for a more powerful pair of Glock ten millimeter pistols. Matthew had joked that she was trying to upstage him. However, while his magazines could carry thirteen rounds hers could only carry ten.

Seras turned and aimed her pistols at the door on the next landing. Matthew walked backwards up the stairs, ready to catch anything slipping out the door behind them. They paused at the door. Matthew took point. '3…2…1…' He flung the door open and stepped into the hall, sweeping back and forth quickly. Nothing waited for them. His head moved in an arc, Matthew scanning this floor with his vampiric senses. They'd taken full form about a year after he'd been turned. It took him that long to actually trust them. Since then, he'd steadily learned how to use them. 'Possible contact,' he thought to Seras. 'Location uncertain. Continue as planned. Use caution.'

'Understood,' her British accented thought voice came back. She started down the hall, both pistols pointed ahead. Matthew took the other side of the hall, starting once again for the far side of this section of the building. They had already searched the former work floor, nearly bare from lack of equipment, and had now moved to the building's administrative levels. Its rooms ranged from offices with dust covered desks and chairs to conference rooms which used to hold long tables to break and work rooms, now nearly identically bare and lifeless.

Matthew quietly crept along the corridor, rolling onto his toes to minimize the sound of his footsteps. He approached a door, and again let his right hand down from the gun to grasp the doorknob. As his hand approached, his vampiric sense flared. He recoiled, retreating a step. 'Here,' he thought. 'There are ghouls here.' Ghouls, cannibalistic zombies under a vampire's control. They were no longer among the living but were not allowed to die. Matthew would end their suffering. His right hand drifted down to his right hip pistol holster. From it he drew his second Browning, a mirror twin to the one in his left hand. He thumbed down its hammer, a bullet chambered in it long before. '3…2…1…' He kicked the door in and stepped in, guns coming to bear. He counted ten ghouls, all looking at him with dead, glazed eyes. They started shuffling towards him, as if he were to be their next meal. Matthew took aim and fired, taking down the ten ghouls in moments. 'Room clear,' he reported to Seras. He lowered the hammer of his right Browning, knowing there to be nine rounds left in it, enough to wait before reloading. Stuffing it back in its holster, he knelt down besides the remains of one ghoul and looked at it. Or more accurately her.

She now had a sizable hole in her chest, and while it did not bleed it did look moist. Not that she would… or could… bleed. Her blood had been drained by a vampire. 'Hmm,' he thought as he analyzed, 'these ghouls have not been here for long. Probably haven't been dead for longer than a day. Must be the early part of a gathering.' Some vampire was, or several vampires were, probably planning some offensive there in England. One didn't gather ghouls for no reason. Their motives, however, remained a mystery. He would try to get one of the bloodsuckers to talk before he sent it to Hell that night. "May you all rest in peace," he muttered to the fallen ghouls. "You didn't deserve this. I'll get the one responsible." Promises like that made his job easier on him.

He stood and went back to the corridor, continuing up the hall. He heard a string of gunfire, but continued on his way. He knew Seras could handle herself. Sure enough, a few moments later the gunfire stopped and the report came. 'Cleared.' No other rooms contained ghouls or vampires, and soon after Matthew was leading the way up the next flight of stairs. They had reached the top floor, and without even focusing his senses were screaming. He didn't even risk communicating with Seras vocally or telepathically. He looked to her, pointed at the door, and then went through the gestures they'd picked to mean 'vampire', 'ghoul', and 'many'. She nodded her understanding, her grip on her pistols tightening. He turned back to the door and grabbed his second Browning, thumbing back the hammer. He took a deep breath. '3…2…1…' He kicked the door opened and ran to one side of the corridor. Seras ran after him, covering the other side. Nothing there, but something was close. On Matthew's side of the corridor was a large wooden double door. Whatever was here was there. Seras knew this too, following Matthew in his run down the hall. There was no time for stealth now. Seras and Matthew each kicked in a door, running into the room and bringing their guns to bear.

This was the one fully furnished room in the building. It was a larger room with two levels. Likely it was some sort of head office in years past. A long wooden table stood in the middle, many chairs around it. The walls had a few shelves holding reference materials. A pair of curved staircases, one on each side of the room, went to the upper level on which sat a large executive type desk. This room was lit, and didn't have the same musky dankness the rest of the building had. It was also one of the few occupied rooms in the building. And occupied it was.

Matthew counted twenty ghouls, all on the lower level. Five vampires on the lower level were bent over the table looking at plans with three vampires on the upper level discussing something. When the two Hellsing operatives broke in, all the vampires swung around to look at them. Matthew thought to Seras, 'we may want the vampire at the desk. He's probably the leader.'

'Agreed. Silence the rest.'

The lead vampire hissed an attack order, and everyone in the room started moving. The ghouls, armed with pistols, opened fire where they stood. All the vampires leapt at Seras and Matthew, armed with a variety of weapons. The pair from Hellsing didn't stand still. Matthew emptied his right Browning at the ghouls, taking down six. His left Browning fired a trio of shots at a vampire. A mercury filled blessed silver bullet tore into the vampire's skull, causing it to scream and fall in a pile of ash. He landed in a crouch, pivoting to take out the remaining ghouls on his side of the room before punching the magazine releases on each pistol. After the empty magazines slid free, Matthew pressed them to a pair of magazine holders on his belt. Sensing the pressure, the holders released their loads, a pair of magazines being pushed up by springs into his guns. Matthew hit the slide releases, chambering a pair of rounds and readying the guns for action. Seras reloaded as well, having taken out all the ghouls on her side. She brought her gun to bear on a couple vampires on the lower level, while Matthew aimed at one jumping down from the upper level. The vampire fired first, and Matthew felt a bullet tear through the flesh of his leg. He flinched, but stayed in his crouch. He would worry about it later. He fired, hitting the vampire in the chest and dropping it in a pile of ash.

Another string of gunfire dropped the remaining four on the lower level. Matthew saw Seras take a hit to her arm, but she kept fighting. Soon, the leader was alone, sitting calmly at his desk. He was a larger man, with black hair and red eyes. He sighed. "My, my, good help is so hard to find these days." He stood, walking to the railing. Seras and Matthew kept their guns aimed, but held their fire. "I would have thought my fledglings could deal with a couple of Hellsing pets, but apparently I was wrong. I shall have to find stronger followers next time."

"There won't be a next time," Matthew said. "How about you tell us what you were planning here. Do it, and I'll make your trip to Hell a little less unpleasant."

He slowly chuckled. "Oh, I think not, young whelp. Actually, I think I must be going now."

"What's wrong?" Seras said. "Not going to have any fun tonight? Afraid you'll loose to a couple 'Hellsing pets'?"

"Oh no, not at all." He stood, smiling. "I highly doubt I would have any fun at all. It's hardly a fair fight; I'd beat you easily. No, I think I'll take my leave. Until the next time, Hellsing pets." He tapped something on his glove.

Beside Matthew, the table exploded. He was sent flying to the wall and felt pain as several chunks of wood stabbed into him. He looked up, seeing the leader start for an exit. Matthew tried to aim his guns at the leader as best as he could, opening fire. He missed. Sighing as the leader made his escape, Matthew looked down at himself. He had chunks of wood stabbing into his right shoulder, right flank, and left thigh, pinning him to the wall. Annoyed at his temporary entrapment, He holstered his left pistol and started yanking out chunks of wood. Luckily, he wouldn't have to worry about infections. 'Perk of being a vampire,' he thought.

Once freed he started for the center of the room, his wounds closing. He saw Seras walking towards him. "You all right?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "You?"

Matthew nodded, then walked over to the remains of the table. "Damn," he said. "The bomb was placed to destroy whatever the vampires had been looking at." Whatever hadn't been torn to shreds had been burned up.

"Let's see if the master left anything useful on his desk."

Matthew and Seras walked up the stairs to the large desk. It was still intact, but the master had taken anything useful with him when he'd fled. All that was left was a single piece of paper on which was a symbol. It was a hemisphere of the globe, Europe and Africa on the right and the Americas on the left. A pair of fangs were jabbed into the globe's top and blood ran down the surface. Matthew looked to Seras. "Well, this can't be good."

"Hardly," she replied. She took the paper from him, folded it twice, and stuffed it in a pocket.

Matthew closed his eyes, stretching out with his senses. They'd agreed that he would use this mission to test his full ability, so Seras only used hers to verify what he said. "Nothing else. No vampires or ghouls left in the building." He opened his eyes. "We're clear."

Seras nodded. "I agree." She smiled for the first time that night, finally coming out of her combat mode. "You're certainly coming along well."

"Yeah. Only took three years." He looked around the room. "Well, let's call in a clean up team and head back to base. And, let's hope the analysts can make something of this symbol. If there's a new group out there, we'll want to take it out before it can build up too much steam."

Seras gave a nod of agreement, bringing out a radio to call for extraction and a clean up team while leading the way down the stairs and to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

My thanks to Linoge for the review. Glad to know you like it. I'll admit that Chapter 1 ended up a little... bulky. I wanted to slip background details in between chunks of story to keep things from getting too boring. And I kinda liked the idea of taking my time in identifying anyone by name.

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Matthew walked through the dark halls of Hellsing's basement… dungeon… After three years he still didn't know what to call it, but either name would suffice. In these dark, markless, stone halls it was easy to get lost, but Matthew's memory was more than up to the task. He slowly made his way to the heavy metal door leading to his room. Pressing his weight against it, the door swung inward allowing him entry.

He looked around the room after pushing the door shut. He'd managed to grab a few bits of décor for his room over the years. To one side was the bed. It was a standard flat bed rather than a 'four poster coffin' with lid held above by four poles. The idea of being shut inside a box every night had freaked him out when he'd first arrived, so he'd opted for a bed. Along the back wall was a desk on which sat his computer. It was on, its screensaver displaying a series of pictures from the series Babylon 5. On the far side of the room was a dresser. Sitting on it was a series of cylindrical objects. They were brass cartridges. Matthew had a strange habit: he collected the cartridges fired from certain guns which carried some special significance; either the gun itself, the person, or the circumstance. He had one from a fifty-caliber sniper rifle he'd fired about a week after arriving, the first cartridge in his new collection. Along with that were a couple pieces of brass from his pistols, a piece of rifle brass and a shotgun shell from his assault rifle called the Spitfire, and a larger three inch diameter shell from his cannon, the Valkyrie. He'd also snatched a shell from Seras's cannon, the Harkonnen, and a couple cartridges from Alucard's guns, a modified Casull called Joshua and a custom pistol called the Jackal. 'Certainly one of my more impressive collections,' he thought.

He didn't know why he still collected gun brass. Maybe another attempt to hold on to his past? Maybe trying to bridge the gap between who he'd been before and who he was then? He didn't worry about it. In the end, he found it fun to look at each piece of brass and remember when he'd grabbed it and who had fired it.

He looked to the table sitting in the middle of the room. It had a couple chairs around it. What caught his attention was what was sitting on it: a bucket of ice. He knew what else sat inside: a bag of blood. He started over to it. After the night he'd just had, he needed it.

Matthew and Seras used to drink their daily blood together finding it easier to manage with company. Over time, though, Seras grew past that, better adjusting to vampirism. So, Matthew went back to drinking alone. He'd found ways to deal with it as time went on. He no longer thought of blood as a needed sustenance but as a medicine he needed to take. While he had never been very good a drinking something he hated, but taking bad medicine was something he'd gotten good at at an early age. As he grabbed the bag of blood, he thanked Robitussin and Dimetapp for their horrible 'cherry' and 'grape' flavors. He bit off the bag's drain tube, turned the bag to the ceiling, and without a thought or a shudder drank it down as if it were a pouch drink. After draining the bag, he tossed it back in the bucket. 'Besides,' he thought, 'compared to those, blood tastes good.' He paused, then shuddered. "Just had to think that, didn't you Matt?" he said to himself.

He sat in a nearby chair and let his thoughts drift a moment. He debriefing had been… well… brief. It had been a mostly typical mission with no losses. Intelligence had gotten both the symbol and a description of the master from him and Seras, and there was little more to do than sit and wait for something to happen. Though it had been a long night, Matthew wasn't ready to try and sleep. He looked at the computer. No, he didn't feel like looking at e-mail. His eyes glanced at his watch. It was late, but there would still be a few people at the shooting range. He nodded at his thought, standing. 'Shooting at paper might be fun.' It used to be that the only thing he considered a target was something made of paper…

He took off his jacket and tossed it on a nearby chair. Since he was still in the base, he wouldn't need to wear it. Besides, it felt cool in the halls outside his room. He liked cool weather. He pulled the door open and quietly shut it behind him, reentering the dark, gloomy halls of the dungeon. It was a short walk to the facility's shooting range, and his enhanced hearing could detect the sounds of gunfire. He didn't need any hearing protection. Any damage to his ears would regenerate quickly. Opening the door, Matthew entered the familiar Hellsing shooting range. Three soldiers practiced shooting at paper targets with a human silhouette on them, muzzle flashes momentarily lighting up the lanes. Matthew walked to a locker he'd commandeered for some of his things and opened it. From inside he grabbed a couple of targets, a single revolver, and a box of ammunition.

Matthew had had a bank account back in the States that his father had kept alive, switching to a checking account and getting Matthew a debit card. Every so often, his father would dump some money into the account, letting Matthew get anything he needed. Hellsing didn't exactly pay him anything probably figuring that room, board, and not killing him was sufficient payment for his services. Using this money after letting the price drop, Matthew had bought a Smith & Wesson 500 fifty caliber revolver. He'd fired one once early in his short lived college career when a local sporting good store had one for trial and had enjoyed shooting it even then when its recoil was substantial to him. He couldn't exactly ask Walter to provide one as it wouldn't have been very practical. Its bullets had to be loaded one at a time. However, nothing stopped him from buying one of his own to use in his free time.

He chose an empty lane and flipped the switch bringing the target to him. He unclipped the silhouette target from its mounts and replaced it with one of his own, a simple bulls-eye target. Sending it back to the far end of the lane, he flipped open the revolver's cylinder and slid five rounds into it. Pressing it closed and setting the cylinder, he brought the gun up in a two handed grip and thumbed back the hammer. Matthew took aim at the center of the target and slowly started to squeeze the trigger.

"It amazes me sometimes…"

The voice, originating from right next to his right ear, startled Matthew. His aim jerked up, the gun firing. No holes appeared in the target. A clean miss. Matthew looked with annoyance at the speaker: Alucard. Over the years, his conversations with Alucard were more frequent than never but were still rare. He set the revolver on the table. "What amazes you, Alucard?"

Alucard, taller than Matthew, wearing his standard red trench coat and wide brimmed red hat, stared at him with yellow sunglasses. The lenses caught the light and seemed to glow. He had his classic smirk on his lips. "How you seem to always try to escape what you are. What you've become. It's almost amusing."

Matthew sighed and grabbed up the revolver. "Not exactly escaping," he said, aiming and thumbing back the hammer. "More like taking a vacation from reality." He fired, and a hole appeared in the target's center. "What brings you here, anyway? You're not the type for simple small talk." He fired again.

Alucard slowly chuckled. "Indeed. We're about to enter a time I will find… fun."

Matthew sighed, setting the revolver down again. He knew what that meant. Trouble would arrive soon, as if that night's mission hadn't already suggested that. "And you're telling me this why?"

"Why not? Besides, Sir Integra hasn't jumped in years and the Police Girl can sense me too easily. You're the only one I can still startle."

He shook his head, rolling his red eyes upward. He took up the revolver again and prepared for the next shot. In slight appreciation, he said, "Thanks for the info Alucard. I'll keep it in mind." He sensed Alucard vanish.

'A time Alucard will find fun,' Matthew repeated in his mind. Alucard had identified times he would find fun twice before. First was soon after Matthew's joining Hellsing in the battles against another ancient master vampire named Shalrik. Second was right before a trio of vampires started forming a rather large army of undead in a remote part of Europe. Both had resulted in many difficult missions and the loss of many good soldiers. 'And Alucard finds that fun… I hope that my being turned by Seras and her being turned by Alucard doesn't make me 'related' to him.'

He held his aim another moment, then sighed and lowered the revolver. Suddenly he didn't feel like shooting anymore. He opened the cylinder and knocked out the cartridges, stuffing the unfired bullets back into the box and the empty brass in his pocket. He closed the cylinder and looked at the gun. After a moment, he muttered, "I'll clean you tomorrow." Sliding it back in its case, he flipped the switch bringing the target forward and took the revolver and ammunition back to the locker. When he got back, he took the target from the mounts, folded it twice, and stuffed it in a pocket. He hung the silhouette target on the mounts, hit the switch to send it back, and left the range.

A few minutes later he climbed the stairs into the main part of the facility. The upper floors gave an impression more like a mansion, even darkened as it was then. There was no activity that night. It was late, probably after midnight. Most sane people were in bed asleep. Well… most sane humans at any rate. Matthew walked to the back of the mansion and opened one side of the double doors quietly slipping out into the dark back courtyard. Over the years, he'd come out here at night to think now and then when the stone walls of his room did nothing to comfort him. Clear of the mansion, he looked up at the stars. He knew it was too early in the year to see the constellation Orion, but a view northward showed that the Big Dipper was out. It was difficult to see; the lights of London made that inevitable. 'Maybe I should go cause a blackout?'

Before he could try his plan, his thoughts were interrupted by a voice, "So, I take it he told you."

Matthew looked over. Seras approached him from the mansion. She'd probably picked up his thoughts and had come to help him. She'd always been there for him. "Yeah, he told me." He sighed and looked to the sky again. "Decided to make me jump halfway to the ceiling, but he told me. What is it with him and finding times of heavy combat fun?"

Seras shrugged. "I don't know, Matthew. I'm just glad he's always up for it."

Matthew gave a 'hmph'. "I suppose so."

After a moment of silence, Seras spoke again. "What else is wrong?"

He almost chuckled. "Nothing I want to talk about right now." He gave a look to the sky, seeing just how far the moon had gone. "Wow… It's really late." He rubbed his eyes. "I'm gonna hit the sack. G'night."

"Good night."

Matthew started for the door. Seras knew not to pry, but she'd guessed it right. Whenever Alucard said he would find something fun or when it looked like vampire and ghoul activity would increase, Matthew always started worrying about his family. True they were all back in the states, but there was always the chance that one of their targets might get over there. 'Might be a miniscule chance, but it's enough to worry in my opinion.'

After another walk through the dark corridors of Hellsing's dungeon, Matthew reentered his room. Not bothering to change clothes, he simply pulled off his shoes and socks, turned off the light, and flopped onto the bed. After a few minutes staring at the ceiling, he drifted to sleep…

Matthew found himself in the middle of a forest war zone, the air filled with dust and the rapid staccato of automatic weapons fire. He had an M-16 assault rifle in his hands. He looked around, nearly spinning in place, but couldn't see any allies. "Seras!" he called out. "Where are you?" He heard movement behind him. Bringing his rifle to bear, he spun around. Three people in black uniforms bearing the symbol he and Seras had found shuffled towards him. Matthew didn't hesitate. He brought up the rifle and opened fire.

The trio were riddled with bullets, but refused to fall. They kept coming, no matter how many bullets Matthew put into them. The rifle clicked; out of ammo. He searched in vain for another magazine. Suddenly, three swords with handle like grips flew over his shoulders, taking the three in their heads. They dropped in piles of ash. Matthew turned around to see who had just saved him, and found himself looking into the insane green eyes of Paladin Alexander Anderson. He had an insane smile, the sort a predator gives as he strikes his prey. "I shall strike you down with my holy blades, foul demon." He charged, a sword held high in each hand. Matthew tried to run, but he was frozen in place.

"Prepare for eternal damnation, vampire!" Anderson brought his swords down in swooping arcs. Matthew could feel their edges pressing into the flesh of his neck…

…and awoke. He sat up quickly, gasping. His enhanced vision cut through the darkness and told him he was still in his room. He brought his hands up to his neck. It was in one piece, but he could still feel where Anderson's blades had touched.

He fell back against the bed. What did this dream mean? Usually when he had a dream there was some sort of meaning. He sighed and rolled over. He would worry about it later. Right then, he just really needed sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Adding to the disclaimer. I don't own Spiderman or Halo either.

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The next afternoon, Matthew entered Hellsing's cafeteria. A few soldiers looked up, but most of them looked away after identifying him. Matthew had become a semi-regular to the cafeteria. True, he didn't really need to eat. All the sustenance he needed he got from blood. But, he was still Matthew Jemeth, and three years of being a vampire hadn't put much of a dent in his palette. Even if he gained nothing from eating food, it still tasted good.

The others had been a little nervous about his being there, but after a while they grew to accept him. His pulling many of them out of certain death certainly helped with that. At times, some of the soldiers would even approach and talk with him. Matthew figured they'd worked up a system to tell if he was up to talking or not. That afternoon his slow walk and eyes lost in thought probably told them it wasn't a good day.

Matthew grabbed a tray and joined the line. At the other side he emerged with a drink, a ham and cheese sandwich and a banana. He settled in for a quiet late lunch, and thought over the previous night's dream. The location and trio of unstoppable ghouls didn't tell him much, but seeing Anderson made him guess that Hellsing would be fighting the Paladin soon. 'Fight the Regenerator… Great. I'd been hoping we could avoid that.' Matthew had seen Anderson fight before during the battle against Shalrik. He was impressed by the man's skill with his blades. While he had learned to fear little in his three years as a vampire he did fear Anderson. Alucard, Seras, and Anderson had had various battles over the previous years, but always on missions when Matthew wasn't involved. Why that was he didn't know. Maybe simple luck?

He took another bite of the sandwich as he sensed someone sit across from him. In his distraction, he hadn't noticed. He swallowed the bite and brought his eyes back into focus. "Oh, hey Seras."

Seras Victoria smiled at him. Over the years she'd gotten more… serious. While on a mission she would drop into combat mode, and when off-duty she remained professional with most people. Around Matthew, however, she would relax. He was glad he could still get her to smile. "We don't need to you turning into another Alucard," he'd told her about a year and a half before. She'd listened.

She'd probably sensed his internal debate and had come to find out what was on his mind. He decided to just get to it rather than wait for her to ask. "Had a dream last night."

She set her elbow on the table and propped her head on her hand. "What of?"

"Anderson." He told her of the dream, including what he heard and its abrupt end. "I'm trying to figure out what it means. The only part I can get is Anderson, and I think that means I'll have to fight him sometime soon. How soon, no clue."

"Well, whenever it is, you won't have to face him alone. I'll be there." She sighed. "And I'm sure Alucard would love another chance to toy with him."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. Seras had said that a bit sarcastically. "You don't want Alucard to fight Anderson?"

"No. I'd rather not fight Anderson at all. I'd rather he stayed on his side of Europe and us on our side."

He snorted. "I've gotta agree." His face snapped back to normal. "But enough about that. What's the word?" He took another bite of sandwich.

Seras sat up, also getting out of an Anderson induced bad mood. "Some of our troops are tracking down a vampire seen in the area of Hyde Park. Right now they're just watching him. We'll wait until he stops before we go in."

"All right," he replied. He started gathering up his things. "Well, then, I'm off to check e-mail. Let me know when something happens?"

"Of course."

After a quick smile and a nod, Matthew grabbed the tray and stood. After throwing away the remaining scraps and placing the tray on top of a stack, he left the cafeteria and started for the stairs.

Having not checked his e-mail in several days there were a fair number of them to go through. Mostly spam, though. A couple were important. One was from Akira. He sighed. Akira, his girlfriend of not five, approaching six, years. After he'd been turned three years previous, he told her it was her choice whether or not they would remain together. So, for the last three years their relationship had become long distance, and had somehow survived. He did love her, but he was starting to feel that if he loved her he would tell her to find someone else. 'I'm not exactly a good prospect anymore.' He would reply later, when the thoughts in his head got a little brighter.

After a couple hours of aimless wandering around the internet, a voice entered his mind: Seras's. 'Matthew,' the voice came, 'go to Sir Integra's office. We're getting ready to start.'

'Got it,' he thought back. Shutting down his computer, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Minutes later he arrived in the darkened office of Sir Integra Wingates Hellsing. Night had fallen, and she hadn't turned on any more lights than she needed to see with. Seras was in the room already, along with Fargason and Harison. Fargason no longer lead field missions, instead helping with intel and planning. After their last major battle he'd handed off direct control of Hellsing's forces to Harison, who had become an excellent field commander.

Sir Integra, clad in her usual dark green suit, sat behind her desk with cigar in hand as Fargason continued his report and Matthew took his usual place beside Seras. Alucard was nowhere to be scene, meaning he was standing in the dark shadows and looking for the most annoying time, place, and way to appear. "…the target never left Hyde Park as far as my observers can tell. They have teams on all sides of the park. He's probably found some place to hide. We're not sure why he was in the park to begin with, either to look for victims or meet with allies."

Harison spoke next. "I'd recommend we send in a team to sweep the park. It's late enough that few should still be there. Still, we shouldn't take more than a couple squads and equip all weapons with silencers."

Integra nodded. "Take Victoria and Jemeth with you. They can help track down the vampire."

"Understood, Sir Integra."

"May God and her Majesty go with you."

"Amen."

The group started to file out, Matthew being the last one out the door. As the door shut, he heard talking inside. He slid his foot back to keep the door open slightly. Integra spoke. "Alucard, go with them. If there is some new organization trying to take root I want it destroyed before it gets the chance."

Alucard's voice replied. "Understood, Sir Integra." Opening up his vampiric sense he could detect Alucard's presence, and could almost feel it as he melted through the wall. Suppressing a shudder, he continued towards the armory. They had a mission to prepare for.

Ten minutes later, Matthew joined Seras at the assembly area. A couple squads of troops stood nearby as a single transport lumbered up. Matthew was armed with his standard twin nine millimeter Browning High-Power semi-automatic pistols, modified for easy single hand operation. On his back he had a backpack which held one of his other weapons and ammo for a third. The second weapon was his assault rifle, the Spitfire. It fired 223 caliber solid silver bullets. Originally, it had a second barrel that fired a twelve gauge shotgun shell, but that had been modified when the silver shot proved too ineffective. The new piece gave the rifle a more round look, and Matthew had noted it looked similar to the assault rifle from the game Halo. His third weapon was a cannon firing three inch shells. It was the Valkyrie, the first weapon Walter had given him. For a time it had been held to the backpack through a series of hinges ending in a clamp, but for ease of use he went back to the original shoulder strap. He used to have shot shells for it, but had opted for only depleted uranium slugs instead. His backpack, modified over the years for ease of use and maneuverability, could hold twenty rounds for the cannon, dispensed through a port on the lower right side. The upper right side held a port for the Spitfire's magazines. He held ten of those, each carrying thirty rounds.

Seras had her twin Glocks and her main weapon, a thirty millimeter cannon called the Harkonnen. She carried depleted uranium slugs and incendiary explosive shells for it. It was an incredibly long rifle, at least six feet. Matthew was always astounded whenever she fired the cannon, as its recoil tended to push her back by at least a couple inches. 'If I were still human and shot that, I'd bet it'd rip my arm clean off.' "So," he said to her, "ready for a walk in the park?"

She shifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "Some walk," she replied.

He shrugged. "Meh. You know me, always looking at the bright side of things."

Hellsing's troops started loading onto the transport, Seras and Matthew taking position near the door. It wouldn't be a long drive, and they had agreed they would be the first out the door. Never knew when some group might try to ambush them as they unloaded. The transport made it way through the darkened streets of London, the occasional streetlight illuminating the group inside. The human troops had night vision goggles, which gave a faint red glow. Some stood, looking nervous. Those were probably rookies, still completing their first half-dozen missions. Now that troops were more plentiful, the organization could afford to assign a veteran soldier to each rookie. Survivability increased almost immediately after that policy was started. The rest of the soldiers were far more relaxed, a couple catching a few minutes of sleep on the way to Hyde Park.

Before too long, the transport came to a halt. Matthew punched the button dropping the ramp and leapt out before it had finished lowering. Seras exited in a more conventional fashion as the human troops filed out and formed up. Harison, who had joined the driver up front, started breaking them up into teams of three and assigning them patrol areas, telling them to call in if they found anything before engaging. Matthew and Seras would go solo, each making their own patrols through the park. After a confident smile and nod to Seras, Matthew started on his route.

He loaded each browning, cycled their slides, and lowered their hammers before stuffing them back in their holsters. He checked that the first round for the Valkyrie and the first magazine for the Spitfire were ready to go, and touched each with his right hand to ensure he still remembered where they were. Matthew then cleared his mind and stretched out with his vamipric sense. He stopped, and allowed the input from his seventh sense to direct him. He found himself turning in place ninety degrees, now facing east. He shrugged. He didn't know this new sense too well yet, but for now it was good enough for him. Matthew continued walking. Soon, over the radio headset he wore, he got a call from a team now ahead of him. He had to chuckle; the sense had been right.

Matthew made his way over to the team and quickly identified the leader. "What've you got?"

"Here, sir." The soldier grabbed a nearby bush and pulled. It came up, bringing with it a circular plate. Underneath it was a dirt tunnel heading down at an angle. "We found tracks heading to this tunnel, sir. It's likely the vampire went down here."

Seras's voice came over the headset. _"There's also a chance there are still more in the area. We should continue our search."_

Matthew keyed his microphone. "I'll scurry down there and check it out anyway. Never know where it might lead."

Harison spoke next. _"Approved, Jemeth. Keep in contact at all times, understood? And team three, stand guard there. I don't want anything else using that tunnel."_

"Affirmative, sir. I'll let you know what I find." Releasing the transmit key, he looked at the tunnel. It was small, barely large enough for him to fit. "Drat," he muttered. With a sigh, he took off the backpack and set it on the ground, laying the Valkyrie nearby. He even had to take off the holster belt, yanking his pistols before setting it next to the rest of his gear. "I'll just leave my stuff here with you guys, ok?"

The leader nodded. "We'll take care of it, sir."

"Thanks." He gave a nod, held his pistols ahead of him, and squirmed into the tunnel. It was a tight fit, but he'd soon made his way to the end, finding himself crawling through a hole into a concrete room with a single metal door. "Hmm…" Thumbing back the hammers of his pistols, Matthew allowed his vampiric sense to stretch out again as he slowly opened the door. Outside was a simple concrete hallway, simple light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Pipes, carrying either wires or water, ran along the upper corner. Water dripped in a few places, making puddles on the floor. The sense didn't show anything nearby, so he stepped into the corridor, picked a direction, and started walking.

After a bit as he was passing another door, he stopped in his tracks. "My spidey sense is tingling…" As the vampiric sense started to take full form, Matthew had started calling it his spider sense as a joke. As he'd figured it, 'that's what happens when you take someone with my imagination, give him vampire senses, and show him the movie version of Spiderman.' He turned to look at the door, then pointed his gun at it. "There's something behind you, isn't there." Matthew tried the door knob, but it was locked. With a shrug, he simply leaned back and kicked the door open, bringing both guns to bear.

Whatever he'd expected to find, he didn't. The room was filled with rows of wooden coffins. "Wow… Someone's got plans…" He walked to the nearest one, took aim with one pistol, and used the other hand to quickly open it. Nothing. It was empty. Matthew walked to another and quickly opened it. Again, nothing. After checking a third, Matthew figured they would all be empty. But whoever had brought these here had plans. Why else collect a shitload of coffins?

He returned to the hallway and continued walking. His senses told him there was more to find, and rounding the next corner he discovered what. Ahead of him was a trio of ghouls, and they'd seen him. That meant whatever vampire was controlling them knew he was there. The ghouls growled, and started shuffling toward him. Matthew knew from experience not to let them get too close. These ones weren't armed, but their teeth were sharp. He brought up his brownings and launched a small barrage of bullets. The ghouls dropped, becoming piles of ash and pieces. He sent a thought to Seras. 'Contact. Just took out a few ghouls.'

'Still nothing up here,' she thought back. 'Though… wait… I think I've got something. More later!'

Matthew shuddered. He'd been detected, so the vampires were going to try to flee. 'Dimmit…' He picked up the pace. He jogged around the corner and found another pack of ghouls. He aimed and fired again, suddenly wishing he'd brought more magazines with him. One of the ghouls, one that had been armed, managed to snap off a shot before Matthew's bullet took him down. The piece of lead cut through a chunk of the flesh of his arm as it passed. It quickly started to heal and within a couple minutes would be no more than a memory.

His vampiric sense gave him a direction to take, and he went. He rounded the next corner and stopped. A herd of ghouls had been arrayed to stop him. 'Dammit again…' He brought up his pistols and fired. Soon, the slides of each browning locked back. He was out of ammunition… and one ghoul was left standing. He sighed, let the slides forward, and pulled the triggers to drop the hammers. A pair of clicks responded, not that he thought anything else would happen.

He now found himself facing a single ghoul with no ammunition. Alucard could take them out by hand, thrusting a single hand through the ghoul's heart. Matthew had no desire to. Luckily, he had another idea. He stuffed his right browning into his right pocket, the pistol barely fitting. He held the left browning down by his side. Suddenly, he whipped the gun up and hit the magazine release. A single magazine shot through the air and slammed into, and through, the ghoul's head. It dropped in a pile of ash and pieces. He stuffed the pistol into his left pocket.

Matthew was completely out of ammunition. Twice before he'd either run out of either ammunition or weapons. Wanting to have a backup plan for if it happened again, Matthew had worked closely with Walter on a new piece of equipment, which was now mounted on his back and had barely made it down the tunnel with him. He brought his right arm around behind him and along his back through a pair of straps and to a handle, which he grasped and gave a single squeeze. The straps tightened. He pulled his right arm in a strong, upward jerk, and freed the equipment from his back. His arm came back around, bringing up a medium sized metal shield decorated in the colors of the Hellsing coat of arms. It was made of a new alloy Walter had concocted which was, in theory, bulletproof. Matthew hadn't had the chance to test it, and it appeared that the time had come.

His left hand reached up behind his head and grasped a grip sticking above his left shoulder. He pulled up and forward, freeing a one meter long broadsword from its leather scabbard. It was made with a core of the same alloy as the shield with an eighth inch silver plate on all sides. He had to take care when using it due to his vampiric weakness to silver. He'd learned that lesson well when he'd hit his leg with the sword in practice. It had left a painful red mark which had lasted for a good week. Upon finishing his training in wielding the sword, he'd given it a name: Amenthyl. It had no meaning; it was just a name Matthew had come up with.

He took the sword through a couple experimental arcs, getting the feel for it. Once he felt comfortable, or as comfortable as one can be when taking a sword to a gunfight, he continued down the hall once again. He almost knew what to expect around the next corner, and he wasn't disappointed. A trio of ghouls stood ready to face him, one armed with a pistol. Matthew brought up his shield, waiting for the ghouls to make the first move. The armed one aimed and fired.

Automatically, his vampiric senses and instincts worked together to jerk the shield down and to the right. With a ping, the bullet was deflected into the concrete wall of the hallway. Matthew smiled. 'Walter, it works.' He charged ahead, holding Amenthyl above and behind him. After catching a second bullet with the shield, he brought the sword in a horizontal arc ahead of him, sliding the armed ghoul's head clean off. Bringing the sword back in another arc, he spun around and caught a second ghoul's neck. A third overhead slide cut the third ghoul's head in half. It joined its fellows as a pile of ash and pieces on the floor.

He held the sword at his side and continued down the hall. Hopefully he wouldn't have any more encounters before linking back up with the troops. The hall had one last corner and ended in a large lobby like area. It was very different from the corridor. Carpeted, well lit, furnished. He looked around the room, packaged up the mental images, and sent them to Seras. She sent a reply saying she got it and she was busy. Matthew started towards a door leading in what he guessed was her direction when a noise came from behind him. Spinning around, he saw a trio of figures. This time, though, they were vampires. 'Oh Hell…' They had sub-machine guns, similar to the MP5s Hellsing's troops used. Matthew brought the shield up into position and held the sword at ready behind him. 'Seras? I think I could use a little help right about now.'

Her reply came quickly. 'You and me both, Matthew. We've entered the building you're in now and found a large number of ghouls. I can't get there right now.'

'Drat… Well, good luck to you. I'll find a way to manage.' He started sidestepping, trying to move to any sort of cover.

The lead vampire spoke. "He's a Hellsing pet. Kill him." With a hiss, they opened fire. Matthew leapt forward and up, deflecting as many bullets as he could. He landed behind the vampires, managing to stop close enough to stab at one with the sword before leaping away. He got lucky, the strike managed to pierce the creature's heart and send him to the floor as a pile of ash. His luck quickly ran out. The second burst of fire sent several bullets into his leg. With a yelp of pain, Matthew was sent to the floor. Luckily the bullets were lead. He didn't loose the limb. He brought the shield in front of him, hoping to block the attack long enough for his leg to heal itself.

The battle was interrupted by a pair of loud bangs. The two vampires fell to the ground, headless and dissolving to ash. Matthew stood, his leg now able to hold his weight and looked to where the shots had come from. There sticking upside down out of the ceiling was Alucard, his still smoking Joshua and Jackal in his hands. One hand, holding Joshua, disappeared into the ceiling. Matthew put away the sword and shield as Alucard spoke. "Do try to be more careful, Young Jemeth. You master would be distraught if anything were to happen to you." His hand and arm reappeared, holding Matthew's bundled gear below him. He swung it back, then tossed it down to him on the floor.

Matthew caught it. In a mix of annoyance and appreciation he said, "Thanks, Alucard." The elder vampire vanished into the ceiling. Matthew rearmed himself, yanking the Spitfire off its mounts and stuffing in a magazine. He started again to the door he'd chosen.

A voice came from above again. "Oh, Jemeth?" Matthew looked up. A single arm stuck out of the ceiling, Alucard's Jackal pointing to a different door. "That way."

Matthew sighed and turned to the other door. It sat next to an elevator and was marked 'Stairs'. "Ok," he said to himself, "so they're up a floor. Fine." He entered the stairwell, checked for any enemy forces, and jogged up to the ground floor. He opened the door, and was met by the tremendous muzzle flash and explosive bang of Seras's Harkonnen cannon. "Holy shit!" he yelled as he slammed the door. After a moment, he reopened it to find Seras pressing her lips to keep from laughing at his display. "What?" he said. "I open to door to be greeted by a big ass cannon! How else am I supposed to react?" Seras said nothing, instead gesturing to the side with her head to tell him, 'come on, let's go.' "Fine, fine," he replied.

Luck was back on Matthew's side, it seemed. The mission ended quickly after that, the troops taking out the last few ghouls as Alucard battled with one of the remaining vampires. His battle did not last long, but Matthew had been able to watch it. Alucard, as usual yelling at his opponent to actually do something, methodically blasting the enemy vampire to pieces before finally putting a mercury charged silver bullet through its skull.

The remaining troops started loading into the waiting transport. Three had been lost. A cleanup team arrived to start picking up the place and search for any useful information. Matthew paused before boarding the transport, looking at the moon and wondering what the next day and night would have in store for them.


	4. Chapter 4

The pungent smell of gun cleaning solvent filled the air as Matthew slid the rod down the revolver's barrel, coating its inner surface with a thin layer of the liquid. Having some free time, Matthew had finally started cleaning his Smith & Wesson 500. Not minding the smell too much as it reminded him of the times he and his family would go shooting he sat at the desk in his room, the gun laying disassembled before him. He'd already cleaned the cylinder and support arm of power residue. The rest of the gun wouldn't take much longer to finish. After all, he only fired a few rounds. As he checked his progress at cleaning the barrel, there was a knock at the door. Matthew looked up. "Come in," he called.

The door swung open, admitting Seras Victoria into the room. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of gun solvent. Matthew chuckled. "Oh be quiet," she said. "Just because you like it doesn't mean I have to."

Matthew continued cleaning, running a solvent soaked rag piece over the entire gun. "So, what's up?"

"Intel finished their analysis of all the data they collected last night. I'm heading to Sir Integra's office for the mission planning. Thought I'd grab you on the way."

"Sounds good." He set the rap piece and gun frame on the table. "This can wait until later. Let me wash off my hands, and I'll be right with you."

The odor of gun solvent removed, Matthew joined Seras in the quiet walk to Sir Integra's office. Soon after they arrived, Fargason and Harison joined them. "We've managed to get some information about the organization we're dealing with. They're called the Global Fangs. They've gotten established in other countries and are now turning their eyes on Europe, starting with England."

"Another thing we know," he continued, "is that we've really lucked out this time." He brought out a map. "The Global Fangs are still weak in England. We think we've located their England base. If we knock it out, mopping up the rest should be relatively simple."

He spread the map out on Sir Integra's desk. London lied in its lower right corner. A star, marking the supposed Global Fang base, sat near the border between England and Wales. It was very lightly populated. Made it highly probable that a quiet enough buildup would go unnoticed there. "We know nothing of the area," Fargason continued, "so a recon team would be recommended with a strike team nearby so any enemy forces cannot escape."

Integra's orders came swiftly. "Alucard, Victoria, and Jemeth: you will perform the reconnaissance. If this is indeed the Global Fang base you will join with the assault team. Collect your gear and leave immediately. Harison, assemble your team and leave as soon as possible. I want that base wiped out now." All those who would respond did so in their usual way. "May God and Her Majesty go with you."

"Amen," responded Harison.

Ten minutes later Seras Victoria waited out at the usual meeting area, curious why her fledgling hadn't yet arrives. She was about to send a telepathic call when she spoted him exit the facility. Strangely, though, he carried no gear. She grabbed her cannon and started for him. "Where are your weapons, Matthew?"

"Suddenly got an idea for transit better than the standard Hellsing APC. Come on," he replied with a smile. The two made their way to the Hellsing motorpool where an unmarked white van sat waiting for them. "Quieter and less conspicuous. Figured it's the next best thing to Alucard's teleportation."

Seras gave a smile and a nod. "Good work, Matthew." She stepped through the open back doors and set her gear down on one side. Matthew's weapons already waited on the other. After Seras had taken the passenger seat, Matthew slipped behind the steering wheel, started up the engine, and drove the van out onto the darkened streets of nighttime London.

For a time they were silent, but as the van left London and entered a more rural part of England Matthew spoke up. "Seras," he asked his Master, "I've got a strange question for you."

Her gaze drifted from the window to him. "What's that?"

He gave a sigh, as if reconsidering asking. "What if we complete our mission? What do we do then?"

Seras was quiet for a moment. "You mean the Hellsing mission of the destruction of all vampires, I take it." All he could to was nod. "I don't know. I suppose it all depends on what Sir Integra decides on. On the one hand, we're vampires. On the other, we're fought 'our own kind' for them for a few years now, Alucard longer, and will continue to do so as long as needed. Others may see us as a threat to be eliminated, but Sir Integra might see us as friends, or at least allies, to be helped. She might find a new use for us, or find us protection. In the end, it will fall to her, or whoever replaces her should the mission stretch beyond her lifetime." She gave a soft smile. "I would certainly hope we're not asked to kill ourselves. After seeing Alucard in action, I'm not sure we can."

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, the van lumbering along to a spot near the presumed base. As they slowed Seras sat upright, gave a nod, then looked to Matthew. "Alucard is outside waiting."

The two exited the van and started for the back. Alucard was already there, leaning against a tree and waiting for them to gather their gear. Seras grabbed her cannon and pistols while Matthew started stripping on his weapons. Minutes later, the three vampires started walking through the woods toward the base. Seras and Matthew stayed near Alucard, his powers being more than sufficient to mask the three from detection. Still, Seras and Matthew walked with pistols drawn, while Alucard walked as if it meant nothing to him.

The building itself was within the woods, trees providing cover the whole way in. Branches reached overhead, blocking out the stars. As they neared the side of the building Alucard spoke, "Seras Victoria, search the perimeter for a way in. I'll search the roof. Young Jemeth, you'll find access to the basement over there." He pointed along the side of the building.

Matthew gave a mental sigh, starting to wonder if he was becoming the Hellsing spelunker, though he nodded in replied. Seras did the same.

Alucard threw his usual smirk. "Be careful, Police Girl." With that, he lept two stories to the buildings roof and moved off.

'Be careful, Matthew,' Seras thought to him while starting to the corner of the building.

'You too.' Matthew started along the wall, soon finding a door that would lead to the basement. It had been locked with the chain, but the chain had been broken. 'Looks recent too...' He slowly opened one door, peering into the darkness with his enhanced vision and keeping one Browning Hi-Power aimed down the stairs. Carefully, he started down into the basement.

He wasn't sure what exactly he expected to find at the bottom of the stairs, but he didn't find it. Instead of a room filled with assorted junk, he entered a corridor. "Not another one of these..," he quietly muttered. Checking that both pistols were cocked and ready, he started down. He paid close attention to his 'spider sense', looking for any sign of the enemy. He walked softly, his footsteps making no echo in the dark concrete hallway.

So focused was he on his vampiric sense, here rounded a corner without looking first. He ran into something solid, muttered and "oof", and leapt back a couple paces.

There, standing before him, was Paladin Alexander Anderson.

Anderson smiled. Not friendly at all. His was the smile a predator gives the prey is sighted. Matthew, his left side toward Alexander, started to sidestep away. "Anderson," he said, "I'm not your enemy. I'm not like other vampires. Remember?"

He shook his head. "Oh, I do, vampire. But that doesn't matter. God gave ya a reprieve those three years ago, but that is long since gone. The time has come for ya to burn in Hell, vampire." He sure his swords. "And that task falls to me."

'I didn't want to have to do this…' Matthew thought. Moving with all his vampiric speed, he pulled his until then out of view right pistol from its holster and fired twice. One bullet struck Anderson in the chest. The other, his head. The tall priest fell back, slamming into the floor. Matthew kept his guns trained, wondering why he hadn't sensed the Paladin's presence. He stood, shook his head, and started a way down the corridor.

Suddenly, he felt a warning flare from his vampiric sense. He leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding a sword aimed at his head. It embedded itself in the far wall. It pierced a piece of paper covered with Latin writings. Matthew heard the sounds of more swords embedding into the walls and spun around. The walls were covered with sword pierced paper. He gave a light gasp as his head started to pound. He realized that he been cut off from his vampiric senses.

More importantly, Anderson now stood. He was rearmed, had healing holes in his forehead and chest, and looked to Matthew with a combination of insane glee and intense rage.

'Oh, Hell...' Matthew thought, 'he's a damned Regenerator.' He knew now his trusty Brownings couldn't help them. As quickly as he could, Anderson slowly approaching, Matthew safed and holstered his pistols, dropped Valkyrie, and released the backpack. He slid his arm thorugh the shield straps, brought it around, and unsheathed Amenthyl.

Anderson chuckled. "A vampire with a proper weapon? This should get interestin'."

Matthew wanted to call to Seras, to Alucard. He needed help, but he knew they wouldn't hear him. These pages of Latin had stripped him of his abilities. So, he tried to build himself up around his remaining physical enhancements and prepared for battle. He held his shield before him, and Amenthyl high and behind him. Anderson held his swords relaxed at his side, obviously confident his abilities.

Anderson moved first, rushing and Matthew with swords now raised. Matthew brought his shield up to block one, blocking the other with Amenthyl. Matthew brought his sword through an overhead arc, which was caught by Anderson's blades and thrown back. With inhuman speed, Matthew rushed underneath the Paladin's blades and bashed Anderson in the chest with his shield. Anderson flew back, but landed on his feet. His movements became a blur...

... And Matthew suddenly found himself facing more than a dozen swords flying right at his head. 'Shit!' With all the speed he could muster, Matthew brought up his sword and shield to deflect the incoming weapons. Some bounced off the shield while others were parried by Amenthyl.

Unfortunately, he was a little too slow. One sword got through, piercing through his left thigh and sticking out the other side by a foot and a half. Pain shot up that leg, threatening to drop him to the floor. Somehow he stayed on his feet. But a second sword hit Amenthyl while his group was loose ripping the broadsword from his hand and sending its sliding across the floor.

Anderson halted his barrage and, rearmed with two of the blasted blessed blades, slowly walked at him. Matthew pulled out one pistol, not having any other defense. Its bullet had no effect of events in Paladin.

So the vampire was on the defensive, bringing his shield up to stop or deflect the priest's swords. The pain in Matthew's leg started to sap his concentration. He whipped the shield around to knock one sword away. Anderson saw his opportunity, and stabbed a second sword into his outstretched right arm.

Matthew let out a second yelp of pain, trying to move back. Anderson, sensing the kill, moved in. He brought his swords down in a horizontal arc. Matthew brought his shield in line as best he could with a sword through his upper arm. The swords struck, but instead of absorbing the force of the blow Matthew used it to propel him into a spin, stretching out the shield again. The shield hit Anderson's flank and send him tumbling.

The priest wasn't down for long. He again stood and started running at Matthew. Matthew, in pain and hearing exhaustion, simply brought his shield up and awaited the inevitable. The Paladin's swords rose up and started to fall. Matthew braced…

…And was surprised when he felt nothing as he heard the clang of metal to metal contact. Slowly, he lowered his shield. Above him were three swords. Two were Anderson's. The third was Amenthyl. He followed the blade back to an arm, then back to the one who had saved him. There, wearing his trademark smirk, stood Alucard. "It seems you are the one I should have told to be careful, Young Jemeth. I'll take it from here."

Matthew felt someone grasp his left arm and pull him away. A quick glance told him it was Seras. He holstered his pistol and joined her in watching her Master at work.

Alucard and Anderson backed off from each other, each seeking a better attacking position. The elder vampire reached under his trenchcoat and pulled out Jackal, cycling its slide with his teeth. Suddenly, the two moved in. Clang after clang rang down the corridor as the blades met in furious combat. Every so often, the loud bang of Alucard's Jackal sounded sending Anderson momentarily on the defensive.

The priest overextended himself in one attack swing, and Alucard took the opportunity. One quick slice, and one of Anderson swords clattered to the floor. A hand still held onto the sword's grip. Anderson, looking quite paced, held the stump against his body has Alucard nonchalantly reached out, speared the hand with the tip of Amenthyl, and held it out to Anderson.

"Need a hand?"

Anderson didn't reply. He simply to the sword he still held, jammed it into the stump, and grabbed another from under his road. Then, with a yell, he charged again.

Matthew is gone to Alucard decently well over the previous years. Fielder vampire felt, at this point, that he had for pressing business. He had a mission to accomplish, and didn't have time to play with the Paladin. It was highly likely he would have the chance again someday. So, once Anderson was in range and with speed that put Matthew to shame, Alucard struck.

Anderson came to halt disarmed. The very disarmed. His look carried in millions of mistake repeated. Knowing the battle was over, for the time being, he said he simply through a look for Alucard, Seras, and Matthew. "Until the next time, vampires." He vanished a flurry of holy papers.

Alucard gave a 'hmph' and started down the corridor. He threw Amenthyl over his shoulder in the broadsword was easily caught by Matthew's free hand. Matthew slid it into his scabbard.

"While you were fighting, Alucard and I determined that this is the Global Fang base. Must be why Anderson was here as well. We're heading to form up with Harison's team now." Seras's look grew thoughtful. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," he replied. He reached up to the sword sticking out of his arm and grabbed its handle. Almost instantly, he let go with a light gasp. His hand felt like it was on fire, and he could've sworn he heard... sizzling. 'Damn... The grip is blessed too.' He tried grabbing the sword in his leg with the same result. He sighed and slouched a bit, his look one of resignation. "Seras," he muttered almost too softly to hear.

She understood, both what he was asking for why he said it like that. She walked over to him, grabbed one sword with her gloved hand, and yanked it out tossing it aside. It was soon joined by the second. "That's why I wear gloves," she said.

He simply shrugged. "Come on. We've gotta form up." Feeling embarrassed at his failure, he simply walked away. After a few paces, he stopped and turned to look at Seras. "Thanks." Then, he continued on.

Harison's team was ready to roll when the three Hellsing vampires arrived. Harison looked to Alucard, who simply gave a slow nod. He turned to his troops while Seras and Matthew donned radio headsets. "All right, everyone, we're good to go. Move to your positions." The squad started to spread into formation as Harison briefed the vampires. "I've got teams at other entrances. When we move in, I want you two on support." He looked first at Seras and Matthew, then looked at Alucard. "You don't listen to my orders, so just do what you always do." Alucard smirked, but did not reply.

"Do we split off, or stick with one team?" Matthew asked. For once, letting himself fall into his job helped him concentrate.

"Stay with this team for now. I might have you two break off from us later, but I'll decide that on the fly. Depends on what we face."

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

Seras looked at her master. "Alucard, I doubt there is anything you couldn't handle."

Harison gave the order to make ready. Seras drew her cannon while Matthew drew Spitfire, loading a magazine and cocking the rifle. At Harison's command, they started forward. From the four compass directions, Harison's teams approached the building. They used the trees as cover, 'island-hopping' closer to the building.

The Global Fangs took notice to the intrusion. Suddenly, the building's doors burst open, several squads of ghouls and several vampires exiting to engage. Harison did not hesitate. "Fire!" Hellsing's troop's fire cut into the ranks of ghouls, dropping many to the ground. When the vampires started closing in, Harison shouted his next order. "Switch ammunition!" All troops released their weapon magazines and grabbed an alternate. Loading and cocking, each resumed fire when ready. The incoming vampires were met with a hail of silver plated bullets, many falling to the earth in piles of ash.

Matthew and Seras were both kept busy covering the troops from vampire attacks. Seras let out streams of 10mm bullets from her twin pistols while Matthew sprayed Spitfire's ammo at any target that got too close. Alucard was already inside, having teleported on ahead. With Seras and Matthew around he considered fighting ghouls and 'weak' vampires to be a secondary mission, at best a warm up and at worst beneath him. After fighting Anderson earlier in the mission, this battle fell into the latter category.

Soon enough, all was again quiet. The Hellsing troops, reduced in number by two, formed a perimeter and gathered a squad to send inside. With them were Seras and Matthew. After breeching the door, the two vampires were told to break off and start their own search and destroy operation. 'Usual method?' Matthew thought to Seras.

'That works,' she thought back. 'Keep in touch.'

'Same to you.' Seras started away, pistols drawn. Matthew, on a whim, stuffed a round into Valkyrie. The cannon finally had a guard for its firing stud, so he could keep it loaded more often. While it wasn't as powerful as Seras's Harkinnen, Valkyrie was easier to wield in battle.

The same whim that loaded the Valkyrie also drew him back to the basement. 'Spidy-sense is acting up again…' He drew one browning and held Spitfire at his hip, slowly staring down. This time, he paid close attention to his surroundings. Within a few minutes, he made a realization. 'This place looks a lot like Hellsing's underground…' He had no time to dwell, however. As he rounded a corner he came face to face with an enemy vampire. "This just isn't my day…" he muttered.

The other vampire chuckled. "Finally. My turn at a Hellsing." He drew a pistol and fired.

Matthew spun, ducking his head to the side. The bullet punctured his backpack and bounced off his shield. As he came back around, he fired three rounds at his opponent, all hitting his chest. The other rocked back, but he was not killed. Rather, he laughed. Under his shirt was a bulletproof vest. Matthew could have easily shot him in the head, but he'd entered 'Alucard Mode'; a more combat oriented state of mind that was more vengeful to being thwarted. This vampire was being annoying, but he would take it out on his terms. With a sigh, he holstered his pistol, slid Spitfire along his leg to the floor, snatched up Valkyrie, and launched a depleated uranium shall.

The shell blew a hole through the vampire's vest… and through the vampire. Somehow he remained standing. He wasn't for long. Matthew drew the pistol again and show the vampire's exposed heart. The vampire dropped in a pile of ash. 'That's what you get for annoying me,' he thought. Almost immediately after that, he thought, 'Wait… Where the hell did that come from?'

Harison's voice came over the headset. "Alright, people, start for the door. Looks like we got them all."

"Not yet," Seras replied. "Matthew, get over here. Everyone else out. Alucard has found a 'challenge'."

Everyone knew what that meant. "We're moving." If Alucard found a challenging target, few humans could survive the battle.

"I'm on my way," Matthew said. If nothing else, he and Seras could give Alucard cover. He turned and fan for the stairs, quickly locating Seras thanks to their telepathic link. She motioned him to follow and started running. They soon came to a central outdoor courtyard. 'Like the one outside Hellsing…' He filed the thought away as he slowed to a walk and brought Spitfire to his left shoulder.

'Alucard came out here looking,' Seras thought to him. 'Said he'd found the target and invited us to watch. I think he's… that way.' She didn't run, but she moved quickly toward where she'd sensed Alucard. They found him quickly, but he was alone. "Alucard?" Seras quietly asked.

"The vampire is hiding from me, but hasn't left yet. Stay on your toes, Police Girl. Our foe may try to slip away."

"Oh no, Alucard," a female voice came from the darkness. "I was just waiting for your fellows to arrive. I wanted to see the 'mighty Hellsing vampires'."

Seras drew her pistols and Matthew swung his rifle around. Alucard simply smirked. "The question is," Alucard said to the newcomer, "do we get to see you?"

"Why not?" To Matthew she had no accent. She was from the United States. A woman stepped into the light. She appeared to be taller than Matthew with a frame both slim and powerful. Dark red hair fell from to her upper back and a pair of red eyes stared at them. He would have thought her beautiful if not for the way she ran her tongue across her fangs. His vampiric sense was screaming at him in warning. Her eyes fixed on Alucard. "Happy?"

He replied with a neutral, "Hmm…" Then he asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Breka," she replied. "I must complement you on dealing with my minions, annoying as it is to loose them. And that Regenerator; much as I hate thanking possible enemies I've gotta hand it to you you dealt with him well. Jemeth… better luck next time." Matthew's eyes squinted minutely as he kept in his sudden irritation. Breka drew her pistols, twin Colt 45 automatics with extended grips. Matthew figured she had extended magazines to match; a Colt 45 normally held seven rounds.

Alucard stepped up, drawing Joshua and Jackle. "I told the others I thought you'd be a challenge. Don't make a liar out of me."

Breka smirked, one worthy of Alucard, then started to sidestep around.

"Alucard?" Matthew asked.

Understanding the question, Alucard replied, "You two stay back. I'm going to have a little fun tonight."

Seras and Matthew moved off, each finding a place to wait and be ready to assist, though Alucard would never call for them.

Breka finished her circle, as if she'd simply been waiting for Seras and Matthew to move out of the way. She aimed and fired, Alucard having decided to let her make the first shot. The bullet tore into his shoulder and blew out the other side. It quickly regenerated, and Alucard was in motion. He fired a spread from his guns… but Breka dodged them all. Alucard smirked. "Well, you're at least a grade C vampire." By this point, Alucard was across from Matthew. He caught Matthew's gaze, and Matthew instantly knew what the elder vampire wanted. He nodded, flipping Spitfire back into its mounts.

Alucard and Breka continued their fight, firing volleys of bullets at one another. Most were dodged, and those that struck were ignored. Alucard gave Matthew another look. With a second nod, Matthew leaned forward, grabbed Amenthyl's grip, and yanked hard. The sword came out of his scabbard and started flying over the courtyard. Alucard stretched out his arm and snatched the sword out of the air, having already holstered Joshua under his trenchcoat. Alucard brought the sword through several slices, then fired a round from Jackal. The bullet struck Breka's left thigh, slowing her for a moment. Then, Alucard brought Amenthyl through an overhead arc, slicing off Breka's forearm.

Berka hisses, leaping back a couple paces. "Hey, that actually hurt!" She glared at Seras and Matthew. "Maybe I should bring some company for you? Keep you out of my hair?" She raised her right arm to snap her fingers… but belated realized that was the arm she'd just lost. She gave an exasperated sigh. Suddenly, a dark-red blood-like gellish liquid started filling the space above her stump. As if hold back by a force field, it took the form of the lost limb. Then, starting at the stump, the 'gel' became the lost limb. She'd regenerated it far faster than Matthew believed Anderson could. Breka stretched her hand to her fallen weapon, and the pistol leapt from the floor. She grabbed it from the air, spun it around her finger, and aimed both at Alucard.

Alucard gave another smirk. "Impressive. I believe you might be a grade B vampire."

She shrugged. "Oh, before I forget." She holstered one Colt and raised her hand, snapping her fingers.

From behind Seras and Matthew, a door burst open. A dozen ghouls shuffled in. Matthew quickly drew his pistols and fired, but the ghouls didn't drop. He fired again, the ghouls simply staggering a moment before continuing ahead. From the back came an unhuman yell, one Matthew had only heard a few times in his life… or more accurately his unlife. He turned to look at Breka. "You didn't…"

She smiled evily. "Oh, yes. I found Shalrik's serum, and I've perfected it. Good luck against them, weak sidekicks."

Alucard fired again, trying to end the battle by silencing Breka. Three hit her chest. Two passed through, one didn't. When it hit, there was a metallic sound. Through the hole in her chest, Matthew could see a metal plate. 'She's armored her heart!'

Matthew suddenly realized he'd heard a similar sound from the head ghoul. 'So, she might have the serum, but not a lot of it. One is enhanced, the others are armored.' Before the ghouls could assemble, Matthew holstered one pistol and brought Valkyrie around, pulling it tight into his shoulder and hitting the firing stud. The cannon fired, blasting a hole thought the ghoul and ripping its armored heart from its chest. It fell in a pile of ash and parts.

He reloaded Valkyrie, looking for another target. Suddenly, he heard a yell. "Master!" It was Seras.

Both Alucard and Matthew looked. "Seras!" She was surrounded. While Matthew had dealt with the first ghoul the enhanced one had gotten the others to swarm her. She's tried to use her cannon to take out the armored ghouls, but it was too bulky for close combat. Matthew started running at herm but was interrupted by Alucard. "No. Wait." Suddenly, Seras's yells grew inhuman. Ghouls were being thrown back left and right, disintegrating into ash and pieces as they flew. In the center was… Seras?

Her hair was unkempt, her eyes bright red, her mouth open in a hiss with fangs extended. Her arms were larger, more muscular, and her sleeves ripped apart. Her fingers became claws, and she was tearing the ghouls to pieces.

Alucard was thrilled. "Yes… Yes!"

Matthew looked at him. "What? What happened to her?"

"Later." He turned around. "Damn…"

Matthew turned around too. Breka had vanished, fleeing in the confusion. "Oh, well. You'll get her later. You always do."

"Hmph," he replied. Turning back to watch Seras, his usual demeanor came back.

Seras had taken out all the ghouls, but was still in this strange combat form and was looking for another target. "Seras!" Matthew yelled, trying to get her to snap out of it. He only got her attention. She started at him, obviously attacking. "Seras!" he yelled again. No effect. "Master!"

She stopped abruptly, gasping in realization at what she was about to do. She dropped to her knees, her body back to normal. "Oh my… I'm sorry, Matthew."

"Don't apologize," Matthew replied. "I should've been watching better. I am your fledgling, after all."

That seemed to calm her a bit. She looked up at her master. "What happened to me?"

"You released your demon," Alucard replied. "Everyone, even humans, have an inner force of power. It is combative, destructive, instinctual. I call it a demon, as it seemed to be tied to a person's darker nature. Some vampires can tap into the raw power of their demon, as you did just now."

She shuddered. "I hope I don't do that again any time soon…"

Matthew stepped over and helped her to her feet. "Come on, guys. We've gotta report in and figure out our next move."

The three started out of the courtyard. Alucard, strangely, walked with them, possibly wanting to keep an eye on Sera. Matthew didn't ask, but he guessed Alucard was feeling a pride in Seras's development. Matthew wondered if Alucard had for Seras any of the feelings she had for him.


	5. Chapter 5

The trip back to London went without incident. Matthew thought about what Breka represented, and American vampire. 'Means there's more of them there, and this one was a lot like Alucard.' That meant his family was at risk. After all this time, he still cared for their well being.

Fargason was ready to debrief them when they arrived back in Sir Integra's office, though Integra spoke first. "Report."

"Mission successful," Alucard replied. "Most targets silenced. One managed to escape. A high-profile target."

"You should have gotten them all," she said with a steel look. "But it would seem you did enough. Fargason, proceed."

This time, Fargason had no charts or maps to show, simple a few sheets of noted. "Preliminary reports show the activity believed to be connected with the Global Fangs is becoming disorganized. My intelligence sources are still looking for details, but I doubt we'll have more than simple mopping up from now on. The Global Fang organization in England is effectively stopped."

"Good news," Integra said. "Until we get more information, you can stand down, but be ready to mobilize again should we find a pocket. Dismissed. Alucard, stay here."

The group started to file out. Matthew stayed at the back of the group, but held back after exiting. The door closed, but had enough force to bounce back open a tad. He slid his foot in place; curious what was going on in there. Integra spoke. "Is what I heard about Victoria true? Is she showing abilities like your own?"

"Yes," Alucard replied. "There was little doubt happening. Though I doubt you have anything to fear from her. She seemed frightened of it more than anything else. I will work with her; ensure that she knows when it is proper to use her full power."

"Do that. She is still your responsibility, Alucard. Continue her training. There's no telling what the future may bring. You can go."

Matthew gently shut the door and started down the corridor. Alucard was right. Seras had been shocked and scared at what she'd done. He'd felt it, as he was sure Alucard had. As he made his way down to the basement, he sensed something. He quickly went to his room, finding the door open. Seras was there. "Need to talk?" Matthew asked as he entered. Seras nodded. He walked to the desk, grabbing the now clean parts to his Smith & Wesson 500 and started putting the revolver back together. "Let me guess: you're still startled about what happened arlier. You feel another part of your humanity is slipping from your grasp, and you wonder how far it's gonna go. And, you're questioning the decision that brought you to this point. Close?"

Seras cracked a small smile and nodded. "That's about it, yes. You seemed like the only one who could identify with that feeling, so you were the best one to come to. Any advice?"

Over the years, upon occasion, something would happen that made one of the other of them question their decisions or feeling despair over what had happened. They're come to rely on each other for support. Matthew had always wanted to help those around him, especially those days. "Mainly not to let your feelings cripple you. Yeah, what happened was creepy I'll admit. But you won't loose a part of yourself unless you choose to loose it. Just see this as another defensive option for use in worst-case. An undefeatable fall-back. Huh?"

Seras seemed to consider that for a bit, as if weighing it against her feelings. As she opened her mouth to speak, an alarm klaxon pierced the quiet. It was one Matthew had never heard, but Seras seemed familiar with. She sprung to her feet. "We're under attack."

"We need to get to the armory," he said, grabbing the 500 and a couple boxes of ammo. "I've only got lead for this. Useless if we fight a vampire." He loaded five rounds into the revolver's cylinder as Seras ran to and opened the door. Matthew led the way down the corridor, running towards the armory. A trio of ghouls stood in their way. Matthew took aim, cocked, and fired the 500. The revolver gave its loud report and one ghoul fell in ash and pieces. The other two quickly fell to the revolver's 50 caliber bullets. Another group waited around the corridor. Matthrew fired his last rounds, then dug into the box for more ammo. He reloaded the 500, then brought his gun up to fire again. More 50 caliber bullets shot outs its long barrel, finding themselves punching through ghoul skulls. More ash and ghoul parts fell to the ground.

Matthew spun around, suddenly noticing a ghoul behind him. Seras was already there, punching her fist through the ghoul's heart. It fell to ash. "If we keep finding ourselves needing to take out ghouls by hand, we might want to get some martial arts training," she noted. Matthew nodded in agreement.

The armory was still a few corridors away when they met their next foe. This time, it was the vampire Matthew had been fearing. "Run!" he shouted to Seras. "Get to the armory!" He brought up his revolver and fired, trying to hold the vampire back. He only made it mad. It ran at him as he tried to reload. As he brought his gun up, the vampire dissolved into ash and fell to the ground to the staccato of gunfire. He looked down the corridor to find Harison, holding an MP5. Matthew gave a nod of thanks.

Harison and his small team escorted Seras and Matthew the rest of the way to the armory, giving them a brief update. "We do not know much," Harrison said, "but we think these vampires and ghouls are connected to the Global Fangs. Probably why they haven't been moving much lately. We're not sure of their numbers, as the reports are still coming in. Everyone is forming into search and destroy teams. Luckily, many of our forces were drilling when the attack came. They had ammo unloaded from their weapons nearby, so they held off the attacks until more weapons could be appropriated from the armory."

As they neared the armory, Harison's men took out another small group of ghouls. "They seem to know their way around pretty well," Harison noted.

Matthew could've slapped himself. "Damnit… I should have realized… At that Global Fang base, I kept thinking it looked a lot like Hellsing. We smashed them so hard last night, it must have slipped my mind."

"Same for me," Seras added.

A report came in about another group of ghouls elsewhere in the facility. "We'll have to worry about that later. Good hunting," Harison said.

"You too, sir. Thanks," Matthew replied.

Seras and Matthew entered the armory. Walter was ready for them, tossing Seras's pistols to her as she entered. Matthew's gear was near the door, so he quickly pulled on his browning belt and backpack. Spitfire was already attached. Walter gave them similar information to what Harison had told them. "What are you going to do, Walter?" Seras asked him.

"I will locate Sir Integra. One of my jobs is to protect her in times of crisis; a job I take very seriously."

"Best of luck, Walter," Matthew said. He set the 500 and its ammo on a counter. The two vampires, now much better armed, began one of their usual search and destroy operations within the Hellsing facility. Every so often, one or both of them could encounter a target; quickly silenced. Why the Global Fangs, this these were them, were making such a bold move Matthew had no idea, but they were certainly putting a lot of force into it.

The two entered the back courtyard, feeling the presence of vampires there. Pistols drawn, they started a search. A vampire appeared to Seras's left. Matthew took aim, but the vampire fell to ash before he could fire. Alucard stepped from the shadows. "They are indeed Global Fans, young Jemeth. Trust your instincts. And no, Seras Victoria, Breka is not among them. I grew tired of waiting and started searching for her." He smirked. 'The coward sent her forces here as cannon fodder while she escaped. It's a good thing I didn't rank her as a grade A vampire."

"Not just as cannon fodder," a voice said from the darkness. "Ridding her of your annoyance would do nicely as well."

Three figures leapt from the bushes, moving faster than inhumanly possible. "They're enhanced," Matthew muttered to the others.

Seras opened fire, sticking the vampire in the chest. There was a metallic clang to the sound, and the vampire kept coming. "Armored, too."

Alucard's Jackle fired, its 13mm bullet busting through an enemy vampire's armor plate and tearing into his heard. "Not well enough," he added.

Matthew kept firing until his pistols were dry, then brought Spitfire to bear. Its bullets tore a hole into the vampire's chest, exposing the armored box around its heart. Several of the Spitfire's silver bullets pierced the plate, but went no further. Matthew leapt forward, slamming the butt of his rifle into the front armored plate. It detached and crashed into the vampire's heart hitting it with the embedded bullets. The vampire fell in a pile of ash.

Seras took aim at the third vampire and started shooting, sending her 10mm rounds streaking. Each bounced off the vampire's heart armor. He started laughing as Seras reloaded using a belt rig similar to Matthew's. Then, she let out a snap shot that hit the back of the vampire's throat. The bullet hit an armor plate at the back of the vampire's skull and ricochet into his brain. The vampire froze, fell over backwards, and dissolved into a pile of ash. Matthew swung his rifle over his shoulder to its railings. Alucard's Jackel disappeared into his trenchcoat.

And all was quiet at Hellsing.

The three quickly made their way to Sir Integra's office. Alucard entered first. There she sat, at her desk, calmly pointing her gun at the door. As their feet was a pile of ash. "Mission accomplished," Alucard reported.

"Excellent," Walter said. He brought her hands slowly together, putting away the wire weapons strung between his fingers. "I will collect damage and casualty reports." With a bow to Integra, he turned and left.

Alucard, Seras, and Matthew moved into the room. Moments after, Fargason entered. Once Sir Integra acknowledged him, he began. "I've already done some investigation. For one thing, we weren't the only one attacked. It would appear that nearly all of our bases in Great Britain were attacked just now."

"That would explain why this attack wasn't that large," Seras noted. "The Valentine brothers' attack was a lot worse." The Valentine brothers. They'd been turned by an unknown vampire and preceded to form their own organization. They made a massive assault on the Hellsing facility several months before Matthew was turned. The facility had sustained heavy damage and many troops were killed and turned into ghouls, essentially making a second wave of troops for their attack.

"The Global Fang leader has left England," Fargason continued. "We believe she is rejoining her forces in the United States."

That got Matthew's full attention. "Are we going after her?"

Integra answered him. "The United States have their own anti-vampire forces, but I will contact them and offer our assistance." One thing she'd learned about Matthew over the years: he was very loyal to the Hellsing Organization, but his home was very important to him. Still… why would she make that offer Matthew wasn't quite sure. Possibly to ensure they didn't rebuild and attack England again?

Still, best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Thank you, Sir Integra."

Fargason continued. "They committed a large number of forces in these attacks. I am not sure how many they have left, but I can't believe many remain. I will continue my investigation."

"In the meantime," Integra said to the Hellsing vampires, "you three stand down."

A half hour later, Seras found Matthew in his room packing. "You're going," she stated.

"Yeah," he replied while grabbing another shirt to roll up. "Sir Integra got in touch with the US anti-vampire unit. They discussed the situation and decided that having one of us would be a good idea. I may be with Hellsing, but I'm an American. They'll deal with me better than you, or at least that's the theory, and definitely better than with Alucard. So, I'll go. You and Alucard get to stay here and mop up England."

She nodded in understanding. "I'll miss you."

He gave a slight smile. "I'll miss you too, Seras. Though I will keep in contact, let you all know how I'm doing."

There was a knock on the door. Matthew stuffed the shirt into a bag and looked up. "Enter," he called.

The door swung open. Walter entered. "Greetings. Would you come with me, Mr. Jemeth?"

"Of course," Mathew replied. He and Seras followed Walter to the armory. They didn't speak; there was nothing else to say yet.

"I have some bad news for you, Mr. Jemeth," Walter said as they entered. "It would appear that one of our younger soldiers panicked and threw a grenade at a group of ghouls. Part of the ceiling collapsed. This is the result." He wheeled a cart out. The remains of Valkyrie sat atop it.

"Oh, no…" Matthew said. The Valkyrie Assault Cannon had been the first custom weapon he'd received from Hellsing. Its shoulder stock was smashed and fore grip broken off. The launch tube and receiver were intact, though.

"I can salvage some parts and build a new cannon," Walter said, "but you won't have it with you in the United States. Luckily, I already have a new weapon for you." He grabbed a gun case from under a counter and handed it to Matthew.

Matthew opened it and pulled out a large pistol. He instantly recognized it. "A 44 AutoMag," he said in awe. It was a 44 caliber pistol, noted for being used in one of the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry movies. Its magazine held seven rounds. "What ammunition?"

"Standard anti-vampire. Blessed silver bullets, mercury charge." He pulled a holster and tossed it to Matthew. "Wear this under your jacket. You can also hold four magazines in one side. I will modify your backpack to hold magazines for your rifle and pistols only. Cutting out the cannon shells will slim it down a fair amount. Your gear will be packed separately from your belongings. I noticed your revolver was left in here. If you wish, I'll pack that as well."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, please do." He looked at the gun and the holster. "A big gun held under a jacket… Walter, you're turning me into an Alucard. But thanks."

He managed a slight chuckle. "You are welcome, Mr. Jemeth." Now he looked to Seras. "I trust you have recovered from your experience on the Welsh border, Ms. Victoria."

Apparently, Seras hadn't had blood in a while. If she could've blushed, she probably would've. "Yes, I have. Thank you, Walter."

"Good to hear. We'll need to stay alert until we're certain the Global Fangs are defeated in England."

Walter wished the two of them farewell and wished Matthew good luck on his mission to the United States. Seras and Matthew returned to his room so he could finish packing. "I won't be leaving until tomorrow," he said. "Wanted the pilot to get good sleep. Won't make a lot of difference anyway." He shrugged. "If the Global Fangs can take over the States in a few hours, my bring there won't mean much."

He looked at Seras. Her expression had suddenly grown serious. "Matthew, there is something we must discuss." He set down the pair of jeans and turned to her. "Before you leave, I must make this offer. You will be, essentially, on your own. Yes, you'll have help, but you'll only have yourself to rely on. You'll need to know that you're making the right choices instantly because you won't have time to second guess." She brought her right index fingernail to the flesh of her left arm. "I offer to release you from your servitude to me. If you drink my blood, you will be your own person again and never even think of calling me 'Master'."

Matthew slowly sat, taking a couple minutes to think once his brain had recovered from a minute worth of shock. For some reason, the idea of being separated from Seras like that frightened him, even thought he hadn't even thought of his 'servitude' in some time. Eventually, Matthew shook his head. He stood, walked over to Seras, and set a hand on her still embedded fingernail. "No," he said. "I don't want to be released yet. Somehow, I find your being my 'Master' comforting. Knowing there is someone, essentially, 'in charge'…"

A realization dawned on him. "Wait a sec… I think I understand now..." His thoughts shot back three years to the might he'd first met Seras. What she'd said to him… no, how she'd said it. "You never wanted to turn me, did you? When you make the offer, you hesitated. Because…" A pause while the thought fermented. "You didn't want to be separated either. You didn't want to loose that connection you had with Alucard." When he'd spoken, he didn't accuse. He simply noted with the tone of sudden revelation.

She nodded. "Yes, that's correct. Though I was wrong in that assumption. I know now I can always rely on Alucard no matter what." She smiled. "And it turned out that turning you was a good idea. I can't complain about the help. And that offer remains open."

Matthew walked over and set a hand on Seras's shoulder. "For what it's worth, I think this was worth it. My 'life' as it were, certainly got more exciting. And while I doubt I'll ever take you up on it, I appreciate the offer."

Seras gave another smile; probably glad he'd made the realization and understood. She returned his gesture, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck back home, Matthew."


	6. Chapter 6

Matthew ensured his sunglasses were in place as the Learjet started its final approach. His head still pounded, his tylenol experiment having failed. The headache had started the moment he stepped into the sunlight. Seras had explained, "It's because of your vampiric sense. As you rely on it more, you notice its absence more. Like the headache you had fighting Anderson. You also loose some regeneraterive powers, but you still have strength and speed."

So, ignoring the headache as best as possible, Matthew watched out the window at the passing countryside. Being home felt strange. He'd watched as familiar landmarks passed underneath feeling both elated and saddened. He'd seen each landmark before, either in person of from the air as he'd first headed for London. But this time… 'I'm dead…' He gave himself a mental slap. He had a job to do. He didn't have time to be morose.

He brought his thoughts back to the mission at hand. When the jet landed, he would meet a representative of the DPSD, Division of Paranormal and Supernatural Defense. He wasn't certain what they were a division of, his favorite choice was the NSA, but whoever they reported to the DPSD would be his team for the time being.

Word came from the pilot to prepare for landing. Matthew double checked his seatbelt and took another look out the window. They were in western Ohio, approaching a small city airport. It was August, not quite time for the leaves to change color but late enough in the year for the sun to drop a bit. It was still high in the sky, and for a moment Matthew understood why most vampires stuck to being active at night. The Learjet landed, taxiing to the side and coming to a stop. The pilot opened the hatch and motioned Matthew out. The vampire exited, ignoring the flare of pain from his head as the light hit him. Three men waited for him on the tarmac. Their uniforms told Matthew they were military. One was army, one navy, the last a marine. Matthew gave them a nod of greeting while trying to remember anything he'd learned about the United States rank structure.

The marine stepped forward and extended a hand. "Matthew Jemeth, I am Lieutenant Colonel Darrel Richard. Welcome home."

Matthew gave a slight smile, took Richard's hand, and shook it. "It's good to be back, sir. How's the war?" England was at least the second country the Global Fangs had hit. Matthew's opinion, it counted as a war.

"Progressing," he replied. "Armen. Marcus." The other two started for the jet, grabbing a nearby cart and unloading Matthew's gear. "We need to return to headquarters. If you'll follow me." Richard led Matthew to a waiting van, the others soon joining them and hefting everything into the back. The army sergeant drove while the navy lieutenant took passenger.

As they started moving, the lieutenant turned his seat around to face Matthew and Richard. He extended his hand to Matthew. "Lieutenant John Armen. Gotta say it's good to have an American vampire on our side for once."

Matthew shook Armen's hand. "Glad I can be of help. Anything you can tell me? About the situation, the DPSD?"

"Well," Armen said, "there's not much I can say on the sit-rep. We should have new intel when we get to base, last I heard. The DPSD I can tell you about. Back in the '80s, the NSA got in touch with all the vampire hunting groups in the US and banded them together. Over time, when folks got too old or injured to hunt, they started recruiting from all the military special forces groups: Navy SEALS, Rangers, you name it. They took the best of the best, then made them better. We've been a human only group until today. The Hellsing Organization said you were ok. They're always been on top of things, so we believe them."

"Good to know the last three years weren't completely wasted." He rubbed his temple, momentarily chasing away the headache. "What time is around here? My watch is still set to London time."

Armen checked his watch. "Approaching 1400." That meant 2:00 PM. "You tired?"

Matthew shook his head. "Nah. It's no big deal." 'Only six hours to sunset,' he thought. "Just one of the drawbacks of being a vampire. Sunlight equals headaches."

Richard spoke up. "There is some background I can give you about the situation. Over the past year, Global Fang activity has been on the rise. We started noticing it about six months ago. More vampires have joined their ranks and we've seen increasing numbers of ghouls. They seem to be drawing strength from the homeless population."

"At this point," Armen chimed in, "we doubt there are many vampires in the States that aren't in the Global Fangs.

"Their activity dropped off a bit a couple months ago, probably when transferring forces to England. We're guessing they'll lick their wounds a bit before they strike again, but we're still looking for them. We want that group taken out."

The rest of the drive was more relaxed. Matthew, Richard and Armen spoke of their backgrounds and battle tactics. The sergeant, Daniel Marcus, stayed silent and drove.

The DPSD headquarters was in Indiana. They stuck to two-lane highways, eventually turning off onto a road marked "Government Property – No Trespassing". The base itself was set back in a forest. After what felt like a mile of trees, they reached a clearing. Several buildings stood behind a high barbed wire fence. A central multi-story office building formed the core. It was flanked by a pair of barracks and a machine shop / garage. Marcus brought the van into the garage. The whole base was basic looking, just an outpost in the middle of nowhere. The garage contained various lifts, tools, and diagnostic equipment. Off to one side was a small armory. A few enlisted men walked around performing their duties, several servicing a partially disassembled Humvee.

Parking in what seemed like a random spot of the floor, Marcus leaned over and pressed a button on the van's dashboard. There was a rumble, a slight shudder from the van, and the floor lowered. They dropped below the thick concrete floor into an underground chamber. "Welcome to DPSD Headquarters, codename Diamond Base, Mr. Jemeth," Richard said.

This chamber was a garage. Several more lifts and a pair of ramps gave access to the surface. Vehicles of several types sat in various parking places. A tunnel led deeper into the facility. Marcus moved the van off the lift and into a parking slot. The four exited. A pair enlistedmen approached with a cart to start unloading Matthew's gear. He gave them a nod of appreciation.

Marcus left for other duties. Richard and Armen led Matthew through the base to a briefing room. While they waited for the reports to come in, the two officers oriented Matthew with the base's layout. The vampire committed it all to memory, his headache having vanished the moment they hit shade.

A private arrived with the reports. Richard scanned over them while Armen continued. "The base is commanded by General Oscar. He gives the final go-ahead for missions. Lieutenant Colonel Richard is one of our company commanders. I'm one of his platoon commanders. We have two platoons per company, and two companies per base. We have this HQ, five other bases, and a few separate companies in more remote areas."

"Lieutenant," Richard said crisply.

Armen snapped to attention. "Yes, sir," he replied.

"Bring our guest over here."

"Aye, sir." Armen and Matthew stepped over to Richard.

Another man joined them; a marine officer. "Mr. Jemeth," Richard said, "this is Captain Waltrin." The navy's ranks differed from the other services. A marine captain was equivalent to a navy lieutenant, and a navy captain was equivalent to a marine colonel. "He leads alpha company's second platoon. Take your seats." Richard was seated at a desk. Armen and Waltrin took seats on its opposite side. Matthew pulled a chair up behind them and sat. "Here's the latest report, along with our orders. Global Fang activity is light, probably in recovery from England. We believe they are building for another attack. No intel on possible movements or activity at monitored bases. Orders: stand-by, but be ready to mobilize." He set down the collection of papers. "That's it. So, we're sitting tight for the moment. Mr. Jemeth, go ahead and get settled in. Odd are this calm won't last for long. Lieutenant Armen, you'll be Mr. Jemeth's guide while he's here."

"Aye, sir," Armen replied.

"Dismissed."

The group left the room, Armen and Matthew walking off down a tunnel. "I was pretty sure I'd be your guide, so I learned where you quarters are. Follow me."

The two continued through the base, Armen pointing out anything important on their way. They soon arrived in a barracks wing. These were officer quarters, less people per room than enlisted. Armen opened a seemingly random door revealing a single-person room. 'No one would be comfortable with me as a roomie anyway,' Matthew thought. It was pretty standard, furniture wise, except for one thing.

A coffin in the corner.

When Matthew saw it, he froze in place. His voice grew dark. "What is that doing in here?"

Armen looked confused. "Well… you're a vampire. From what we're heard, your kind is more comfortable sleeping in coffins."

Matthew was silent a moment, his eyes closed. 'Your kind,' reverberated through his head a couple times. Finally, he opened them and turned to Armen. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be mad at you. Apparently Hellsing said nothing…" He heaved a sigh. "I'm not like most vampires. To this day, I've gotta fight myself to drink blood…" He walked to a refrigerator and opened it. Sure enough, it was filled with Hellsing issue blood transfusion bags. He grabbed one and held it up. "This is the only reason I can get it down. I don't have to kill to get it." He tossed the bag back in the fridge and closed it. "And, I don't sleep in a coffin. Never have. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd get me a bed. Take too long, I'll take that thing apart and build one."

Armen nodded. "I understand. I'll make sure you get a bed, Mr. Jemeth."

"Plesae, call me Matthew. Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I've lost my humanity. Wanna see the gear I brought from England?"

The fast subject change worked, and ten minutes later Matthew and Armen stood in the base's armory. Right next to it was a shooting range. Matthew pulled out each of his weapons, handing them to Armen for inspection. He was impressed by the auto-mag. "Actually, Lieutenant, I haven't shot it yet," he mentioned after Armen asked if it was difficult to shoot.

"Well, we can't have that. And I'm off duty. Call me John." Without waiting for a reply, John grabbed a box of lead 44-magnum ammunition and handed it to Matthew. "Give it a try, Matthew." He got the two of them buzzed through to the range. Others looked up and saw Matthew's red eyes. He could sense their fear. He guessed more than one wanted to shoot him on the spot. John simply gave them a hand signal and led Matthew to an unoccupied lane. One man, a civilian, left the room. Matthew tried to put it out of mind.

He opened the ammo box and released the auto-mag's magazine. After pushing seven of the large 44 magnum bullets in, he slid it back into the gun. He grabbed ear and eye protection out of habit, pulled back the gun's slide and took aim. He squeezed the trigger.

The gun gave a loud report and tried to jump from his hands. It wasn't as strong as Valkyrie, not that it should have been, but it would be more useful. He fired the remaining rounds, making a cluster around the target's heart the size of a half dollar. With a nod, he looked at John. "Care to try?"

"Nah, I'm good." John brandished a Colt 45 auto. He snapped up his aim and let fly seven 45-caliber bullets. Not as powerful as their 44 mag cousins, but well known for their stopping power. His bullets landed in a similar pattern in the target next to Matthew's.

Matthew chuckled. "Nice. You'd do well in Hellsing."

"I'll stick with the DPSD, thanks. Keep shooting. I'll be back in a bit."

Matthew continued to practice. He would hold the pistol, uncocked, by his side, then whip it up into line. After a few practice draws, he cocked the pistol as he aimed and fired. A hole appeared in the target's forehead. Matthew sighed and shook his head. 'Walter, you're turning me into an Alucard…'

John returned. "Good news, Matthew. I found you a bed. Though I've got to admit, it would've been funny to see you build one."

Matthew gave a slight smile. "Eh, I'll take the easy way out this time. It'll probably be the only easy thing in this mission…"


	7. Chapter 7

Though it was 8:00 PM when Matthew got up from his nap, there was more activity around the base. Around Hellsing, there was only more activity at night before a mission. He carefully made his way through the base to a meeting point with Armen. More people looked at him, but not as many seemed afraid.

He soon arrived. Armen and two of his squads were already seated. Matthew found a place in the back and stood. Richard soon arrived. "Attention on deck!" Armen sounded. All present stood at attention.

"As you were," Richard said. The platoon sat, Matthew remaining standing. "We've got a recon mission tonight, and a new team member. I'll introduce him in a moment. First, we some of you know, we cleared out a Global Fang base several years ago. We left it standing and kept an eye on it. We've picked up activity from that base and we want to see what going's on. Your squads have been tapped. Lieutenant Armen?"

Armen stood. "Sir." He joined the Lieutenant Colonel. "Normal recon op loadout. Teams of three moving around the facility. Radio silence once we arrive. We get there, start the search, fifteen minutes later we pull out. Defend yourselves, but do not attack. We want this as silent as possible. We have a new guy on the team joining us on this op. He's a Hellsing soldier, but he's an American so don't worry about an accent. Matthew Jemeth." He gestured toward Matthew. The troops looked and Matthew replied with a simple hand wave. "He may be a vampire, but he's still one of us. Don't shoot him. First and second squads will break into search teams, I'll stay with the bird and monitor." Armen returned to his seat.

Richard stopped up. "Load up. Good luck. Dismissed."

The assembled troops broke into squads and left the briefing room. Matthew met up with Armen, passing by the civilian from earlier. The dark skinned man was leading one of the squads out, and if he'd had guns for eyes Matthew would've been a pile of dust. Matthew simply kept walking, trying not to notice. He gave Armen a confused look, looked at the civilian, then back to Armen. Armen nodded, understanding the question. "Let's walk and talk."

They started for the armory. "His name is Roland Mitchell. He was a member of a group called Night Shield before DPSD came along. Only civilian still working in the field and one of our more experienced members."

"How old is he?"

"Thirty-five."

"Okay… Why does he hate me without me saying a word? The whole vampire thing?"

"That's about it. It's nothing you personally did. He was about eight when his family was attacked by a pair of vampires. Night Shield countered, but they were too late. He lost his whole family, but he survived so they took him in. When DPSD formed, he went with them. He's gotta be the most anti-vampire person on this base. He's a good man, though. Don't give him a reason to attack you and he'll leave you alone."

"Forgive me if I don't find that very comforting."

They entered the armory. DPSD troops loaded up with their recon gear; M4 assault rifles, 9 mm berettas, ammo, night-vision goggles, and light body armor. Matthew walked to where his gear was staged, took of his jacket, and reached out his hand. He first put on the auto-mag's holder. The gun was at his right flank and several magazines at his left. The jacket went back on. He left Amenthyl and it's shield; too noisy and bulky to wear. Next came the holster belt with brownings and ammo. Then, the slimmed down backpack, Spitfire already attached. He slipped a utility knife into the pack. Lacking the sword, he might need a blade. He reached back, feeling spare magazines sticking out of the pack. He was ready to go.

He walked with Armen, joining the troops in their march. They entered a large hanger. Matthew's eyes widened. "What is that?"

"Our ride," Armen replied.

Hellsing had large, noisy, diesel powered transports to carry them around England. The DPSD had a lot more ground to cover. They used aircraft. Looking something akin to a video game personnel carrier / dropship, it had four wing / arms stretching out from the fuselage; two longer up front angled up and two shorter in back angled down. At the tip of each wing was a jet engine on a swivel mount. It had powered sliding doors on both sides of the personnel compartment with a corridor leading to the cockpit. From the angles and curves of the craft, Matthew figured the vehicle was stealth. Matthew, Armen, and one squad of troops boarded the craft. The second boarded another. Once all were seated, the doors slid shut and the engines powered up with a quiet whine.

The craft lifted, rising through a hole in the roof. The engines started to swivel, the craft slowly making the transition to forward flight. The ride was surprisingly quiet. Matthew turned to Armen. "Great soundproofing," he commented.

Armen shook his head. "Not really. It's a quiet jet engine technology."

"Really? Nice." He looked around the compartment. "Anything else you can tell me? I'm a fan of tech info."

"Sure," Armen replied. "We call her a Vulture."

"Vulture?"

"Yeah. Well… we use them to hunt the dead, so the name fit." Matthew shrugged and nodded. "Quiet jet and stealth technology, vertical takeoff / landing as you saw, and able to carry a couple fully loaded squads in a pinch. We're going further tonight, so gotta save on weight. One day the Army and Marines will use them too. Only problem is that she's subsonic. Can't find a way to dampen the sonic boom."

"Are Vultures armed?"

"They can be. There's a mount on the nose for a gatling gun and a couple side mounts for machine guns to cover the troops, plus underwing mounts for bombs, missiles, and the like. We don't arm them, though. With this kind of target, you need to go to ground combat."

Matthew nodded in agreement. The rest of the ride was smooth and silent, the troops quietly talking amongst themselves. Roland was first squad leader, so he rode in that Vulture. He avoided looking at Matthew the whole trip.

The Vulture started descending, soon slowing to a hover. It dropped to ground level and the doors opened. The troops quickly exited both craft and formed up. One Vulture moved off. "First squad, form teams. Conduct close-in recon. Second squad, move to the trees and cover. Matthew," he turned to the vampire, "do your thing."

"Yes, sir," Matthew replied.

"Roland, move them out. Hand signals from here on in. Meet back here in fifteen minutes."

"Aye, John." Roland turned to the assembled troops. "Stand by… Platoon, move out."

Silently, the group started away. Armen walked to the still waiting Vulture, grabbed a laptop computer to keep track of his people, and the aircraft lifted away. Matthew stayed with the group entered the nearby forest. Moving slowly and carefully, the DPSD troops walked through the forest to a series of buildings. Looking strangely similar to the DPSD base, minus the clearing, it was made of an office-like building, a vehicle hanger, and the top of an old missile silo. Matthew knew there were vampires there. He could sense them.

While Alucard was far superior, Matthew had skills of his own. Over the years, he'd gotten pretty good at hiding his presence, at stealth. He would get good practice that night. Masking himself, he continued ahead as the DPSD troops stopped to split and find routes onward. Wary of being detected, Matthew got to the side of the building. Next to him was a tree reaching the roof. He allowed himself a nod.

He knelt down and leapt up, using his enhanced legs to propel himself into the tree. Regaining his balance, he leapt again and gently landed on the roof. He hid in a shadow, looking across the roof. It was flat, stairwell access doors at two opposing corners. In the center was a glass dome; the room it covered was lit. A few rooms had skylights, many unlit. Matthew crept toward one, keeping both his mask and his guard up.

After making a throughout check of the window and room below, Matthew looked for a way to pry the glass up. He reached into his backpack, finding the utility knife. He thanked the whim that had him bring it. Opening the blade, he slipped its edge under the window. He was glad when no alarms tripped as he opened it. Matthew set his backpack in the shadows and slipped into the building.

He kept his pistols holstered, quietly stalking down the halls. At that moment, the building itself felt no different from any office building. But, he could still sense the presence of vampires. He approached the central domed room, staying in the shadow of the hallway.

Somewhere below, two people spoke. Vampires with the Global Fangs. Matthew listened closely, fixing on their voices. "You're certain the preparations are complete," came a woman's voice. "Lady Breka will not allow any lapses after what happened in England."

'Breka?' Matthew thought. 'She's coming here? We better not be here when she arrives.'

"Yeah," a man's voice replied. "We're doubling the guard. Sent for some more vampires from another base. They'll be here before Breka is."

"See that they are," the woman said. "And get some ghouls out to patrol the area around the base. Last thing we need is an attack right now."

"Will do. I was going to search the area personally in about a half hour. I'll take some with me and post them."

Luckily, attack was the last thing on Matthew's mind. He quickly started for the skylight. He had eight minutes to get back, and he didn't want to be late.

He escaped without trouble and rejoined the group as they assembled. The Vultures returned and picked up the troops. Both squad leaders boarded the head craft and gave reports to Armen. Both said, essentially, that little activity was detected, but further observation was warranted. Armen then turned to Matthew. "What did you see?"

"See and hear, sir." He explained how he gained access to the building and what he'd heard. "So if we can figure out which base they drew from, we might have an easy target to hit."

Armen nodded. "We do know of a couple possible bases. I say we go take a look." Carter, the other squad leader, nodded. Roland looked uneasy with the idea of getting a mission from a vampire, but in the end agreed.

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Don't we need to report in and verify the idea?"

Armen shook his head. "I'm not sure what you've heard about the rest of the military, but we're probably different. Given the nature of our job, we're allowed to make things up on-the-fly when needed. So long as we all aren't killed and can explain why we did it, we'll be fine. Though General Oscar approves of missions before they first launch, so if we were there we'd have to get his go-ahead."

"Well, fine by me. I'm here to help you take them out, after all." Roland looked at him out of the corner of his eye for a brief moment, then looked away. The Vulture soon approached the first base. Matthew 'scanned' it with his vampiric sense. "Not this one," he reported. "Too many. Wrong mindset. Keep flying." Fifteen minutes later, they passed another. Matthew scanned it. "I think it's this one. Smaller presence and they're a little nervous."

"Sounds good to me," Armen said. "Pilot, take us down."

"Aye, sir!" the pilot responded.

The Vulture banked and dropped, landing a distance from the base. All the troops unloaded and prepared their weapons. Lieutenant Armen led them out after a quick briefing. Matthew used the short walk through the woods to prepare himself. His plan was to slip into his normal role of support.

This base had a clearing around it, and Matthew could sense that the Global Fangs had lookouts. "Doesn't seem like they're probing with a vampiric sense. Mainly working with eyesight… Wait a sec… Looks like we have a change of guard coming up. They're being sloppy… Might mean they're expecting us or they're really undermanned. I can't be sure," he reported to Armen.

"We'll go for the second option. How long to we have?"

"Not sure. Three minutes, maybe."

"Then let's move." Armen gave a hand signal to the troops. They ran across the field, their footsteps barely making a sound. Matthew kept his senses trained on the building, looking for any odd changes. He also tried spreading his mask over all the troops to give them that much longer before detection.

This base was a single building, a combination of an office, barracks, and garage. This time, he could see a road stretching into the woods. The DPSD troops arrived at the building's wall without incident. They located a door, and one of the soldiers picked its lock and disabled its alarm. They quietly slipped into the building. Second squad stayed on the ground floor. First squad, Matthew with them, started for the stairs. Matthew drew Spitfire and loaded a magazine. He stayed near the front, ready to shoot anything inhuman. DPSD troops flung open doors as they passed, but continued after seeing no occupants.

The corridors were partly lit, more than bright enough for a vampire and just too bright for night vision goggles. As they approached a double door, Matthew held up a hand. His spidy-sense had just flashed a warning. There were vampires and ghouls in the next room, and they were ready for the human intruders. He whispered the report to Armen, who signaled his troops to make ready. Then, Armen gestured to the door. Matthew understood.

He stepped up, brought up a foot, and kicked the door off its hinges. Spitfire came up, and Matthew found his first target. He squeezed the trigger.

A stream of 223-caliber bullets lanced out, catching a vampress in the chest. She fell to ash before she even had time to scream. Stepping in and to the side, Matthew saw more streams of bullets streaking into the room, vampires and ghouls falling all around as they tried to counter the superior foe. 'Hmm. Didn't exactly leave their best and brightest behind,' Matthew thought. He emptied his magazine and reloaded, trying to keep you his fire. He winced as a bullet sliced across his right upper arm, but still he fired. Under the combined fire of DPSD humans and a Hellsing vampire, the Global Fang forces stood no chance. Soon, all was quiet. For a moment.

"We need backup!"

Armen looked at his troops. "Move out! Downstairs!"

The panicked call had come from second squad. They were in the barracks / garage area and had run into another ambush, finding themselves surrounded and outnumbered. Matthew steered the troops around to flank the Global Fangs. Switching to his brownings, he made a flying kick at the door, breaking through and opening fire. Two vampires fell immediately.

Second squad had found good cover, but hadn't been able to return fire unless a vampire got to point-blank range. First squad's abrupt entry allowed second squad to exact revenge for their embarrassment. The remaining vampires did not last long.

They broke into search teams and made a full search of the building, finding no additional forces. "Great work, people," Armen said. "Though we got lucky with these ambushes. No losses. I think the staff will be pleased. Roland, Carter, I want you two to work up some anti-ambush training. First squad was lucky to have Matthew along to spot it, but we won't always have him around. Understood?" Both replied affirmatively. "Good. Let's get back to base. You've earned your beer for the night." That for a reaction from the troops; smiles, nodding, and more than one "whoo!". The Vultures returned, troops loading up. Many now give Matthew approving looks. He'd proven himself to them that night, that a vampire can be good. He could only hope that trend continued.


	8. Chapter 8

His gear stored back in the armory, Matthew joined John Armen in reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Richard. The two walked in and stood at attention. Richard looked up from his paperwork. "Please be seated." After both had settled into chairs, he spoke again. "Your reports?"

By earlier agreement, Armen went first. He gave details on the mission, ensuring to cover the change in objective. He had weighed in the benefits of the assault against the possible loses. He also explained that if they had not found the weakened Global Fang base in the first three tries he would have aborted and returned to base.

Matthew took responsibility for their falling into ambushes. He believed that since the attack was his recommendation, he should have scanned better to ensure they hadn't been planning something. He'd missed something, putting them at risk. Richard and Armen agreed that he was wrong. While Matthew had brought it up, Armen made the final decision. And he'd done a fine job detecting the first ambush before it was sprung, and helped fight off the second. Due to the flexible nature of their mission and the fact that no one was injured, the change in mission was approved and declared a success.

The vampire returned to his room alone, tossing his jacket into a chair as he entered. Much as he disliked it, there was something he had to do. He reached into the refrigerator, pulled out a blood bag, and drank it. Almost irritated that he felt better, he tried to put it out of mind by grabbing a book. His distraction did not last for long.

An alert klaxon pierced the air. Matthew shot up and sprinted for the door, grabbing his jacket on the way. He followed the flow of troops to an assembly area. Support personnel wee bringing weapons and body armor from the armory. Matthew saw his gear to one side. Richard entered and started for the podium, telling the troops "As you were," before anyone would get to attention. "This'll be brief. We've gotten a distress call from Silver Base. We're sending as much help as we can. Alpha company, load up and proceed to the Vultures. Bravo, you're reserve this time. Get to guard positions in case we're attacked too. Move out!"

There was a flurry of motion. Matthew, not officially part of either company, chose to join Alpha. He slung on all his gear and a radio headset over his jacket and joined the new flow to the hanger. Six Vultures, most of what they had, were loading up to leave. Matthew jumped in Armen's Vulture. "Matthew," Armen said, "I want you to join second squad. They might need the extra help after that last mission." Matthew nodded, wondering if there was more to his assignment change.

The heavily loaded Vultures slowly lifted, their pilots taking extra care. But once they were clear of the base, they shot off into the near midnight sky. Silver Base was about a half-hour flight away.

Matthew looked at the troops. All were alert, so far as he could tell. Somehow they were good to go for another mission after only a short time rest from the last one. Hellsing troops could do it too, but Matthew had to rely on his vampiric endurance to get him through times like these. The DPSD troops wore heavier armor. It looked similar to Hellsing battle gear, but excluded the gas mask and was all green, kinda like the marines in Halo. They carried similar gear to the recon op: utility kits and night vision goggles. With the heavier loadout, several soldiers in each squad were armed with a SAW light machine gun. The others carried M4s or M16s.

The flight was quiet. Almost too soon, word came over the comm. "Two minutes to drop. Repeat, two minutes to drop." The DPSD troops roused from their states of thought and got ready to move. Mathew had moved over by Carter during the flight. The man had nodded a greeting to him, which made Matthew feel better. Suddenly, the Vulture was at ground level, both doors sliding open. The troops leapt from the Vulture, forming into squads as they fan for the base. Orders came over the headset. "First squad, move in and secure entry. Second squad, hold that position," Armen said. Matthew heard that the Vultures would be landing nearby in case extraction was needed. Third squad was guarding them. Second platoon moved for another side of the base.

Above ground, Silver Base was similar to Diamond in its building layout. The differences lay underground. There were fewer offices and less intelligence spaces. It had fewer Vultures to maintain. The base's exterior lights were running, illuminating the base. Smoke billowed from the garage and the office building showed signs of damage.

It was time to give the Global Fangs a battle on two fronts. First squad reached the garage and broke down the doors. They entered, guns blazing. Carter led his squad plus Matthew in. An overturned Humvee and chunks from the roof gave excellent places for cover. One of the vehicle lifts had collapsed, and smoke rose from a fire beneath the garage. Its heat and light reached the garage, giving the room an orange glow every time the lights flickered. First squad had already secured the area and started below once second got in position. Matthew had Spitfire drawn, waiting to be useful.

After ten minutes of waiting, a change in orders came. "Second squad, send a fire-team into the upper offices. We need you to flank some Global Fang forces."

"Understood," Carter replied. He grabbed a few of his people and ordered the rest to hold their positions. "Jemeth, you're with us."

"Yes, sir." He moved away from his place by the wall and leapt down, joining the team in a run to the office. No enemy forces stood in their way. They entered the building.

Diamond Base's, and hopefully Silver Base as well, underground consisted of a system of round concrete tunnels connecting its various sections. Personnel areas used smaller tunnels wide enough for three people side-by-side. They connected staff offices, intelligence analyzation rooms, mess halls and living quarters. Similar to a US Navy ship, the living quarters and mess halls were divided. There was "enlisted country" for low to mid rating enlisted men, "NCO country" for higher level enlisted, and "officer country" for all the officers. Each grouping got their own mess hall.

Central areas were connected by larger tunnels, ones wide enough for two Humvees to pass side-by-side. These connected the assembly and briefing rooms, the vehicle lifts to the garage, the armory, and the Vulture hanger. In earlier briefings, he'd learned that parts of the metal floor were designed to hinge up to form protected firing positions. Markings along the floor also indicated directions to one part of the base or another. It was far different from Hellsing's mansion. Hellsing had an elegant look to it, excluding the basement. DPSD bases were utilitarian in design; though each one had break rooms, exercise rooms, etc. One could easily find a group of off-duty soldiers gathered around a pair of linked X-Boxes playing Halo 2.

Though Silver Base would have none of that. Matthew wasn't going to guess what they would find, past the basic design of the base. He knew nothing of the above ground portion save for the garage, but that was about to change. Carter's fire-team burst through the front entrance to the building. On the floor was the seal of the United States Army, along with the base's fake name. It felt like a typical office to Matthew, save the presence of vampires a couple floors up. The ground floor had a reception desk, conference rooms, a security checkpoint, and a few offices. Dark colored carpeted floors and normal walls painted white. Some of the lights were out, giving the whole interior a dark, sinister look.

A quick scan told Matthew exactly where they had to go. He led them around the to the building's other side and up two stories. The sounds of gunfire punctuated the air along with muffled battle commands. The fire-team stalked through the darkened halls, moving toward their for. Matthew stopped, signaling to Carter that Global Fang forces were right around the corner. The increased volume of the fighting agreed. Carter signaled to his troops, and in unison all stepped around the corner, took position, and opened fire. The vampires before them didn't stand a chance.

The fighting was brief, their successful flanking maneuver cutting the legs out from under the Global Fang vampires. Carter reported in to Armen, requesting new orders. "Get below," Lieutenant Armen said. "All above ground threats have been neutralized. And we've linked up with Silver Base personnel. We'll pass on possible threat numbers when we have them. Out."

Carter led the way back to the garage. He yelled his orders as he entered. "Let's move, second squad. Double time!" The troops moved onto a lift and hit the controls. They started below. As the lift cleared the ceiling, echoes of gunfire could be heard from the tunnels. The squad moved out, weapons drawn. Some of the lights were blown own, and fires started by exploding machinery gave the tunnels the same orange glow as the garage. Floor panels had been lifted, and tables overturned for additional cover. No troops, good or bad, were to be seen. Foregoing stealth, Matthew focused his vampiric sense, trying to locate any vampires or ghouls in their path. He couldn't help but think this was a retaliation strike. It seemed like Breka's style. 'Oh God, I hope she didn't come with them…' If she had, they were probably screwed.

Piles of ash showed their fellows in first squad had done their job. Slowly but surely the base was being cleared out. Every so often they found a human survivor. Most were sent back to the surface. One, who had been bit and was near death, demanded to be shot in the head. He didn't want to become something inhuman. 'Something like me…'

Second squad had two firefights, both short. One squad member spotted a stray ghoul and fired. The other spotted a vampire, which Matthew took out with a single browning bullet. Suddenly, a call came over the comm. "Matthew, first squad has encountered a heavy hitter and needs assistance. Proceed to assembly area bravo."

Matthew keyed his headset. "Aye, sir." With a nod of good luck to second squad, Matthew started running back for the central corridors. Luckily, he found assembly area bravo easily enough. However, he couldn't see his opponent. Remembering Alucard's fighting style, Matthew stripped off his gear. Laying his backpack, sword/shield frame, and jacket on the floor, he pulled four more magazines for his auto-mag and stuffed his pockets. He also grabbed his shield, feeling the bulletproof metal plate might come in handy real fast. In the end, dropping his gear would let him move faster. After his last battle with Anderson, he knew that when fighting someone stronger than oneself you've gotta be able to move fast. He entered the assembly area. Overturned tables and broken chair littered the floor. Concrete columns helped support the ceiling. Turning to one side, he saw his target. A vampire was about to kill Roland. With no hesitation, Matthew drew his auto-mag, aimed one-handed at the vampire's heart, and fired.

The bullets struck, but a metal-on-metal sound told Matthew this vampire was armored. And now, he was mad. Roland no longer a real threat, the vampire turned to face Matthew. Roland scrambled for cover and started searching his pack for ammo. Matthew saw his opponent's weapons. 'Oh, shit…' The vampire was armed with a pair of M16 assault rifles, each loaded with 200 round drum magazines. Matthew brought up his shield, suddenly wishing Seras and Alucard were there. He tried to build himself up. "Why don't you pick on someone dead?"

The vampire chuckled. "I would have expected better from a Hellsing."

Matthew shrugged. "I'm no Alucard."

"If you see him again, tell him Ralik says hello."

"Will do, not that I think he'll much care."

"Fine." Ralik opened fire, sending two streams of 223-caliber bullets at Matthew. The Hellsing vampire let his vampiric sense have influence, jerking his shield arm to block the incoming fire. Bullets pinged off the shield as Matthew moved for cover. One bullet streaked across his thigh; easily ignored, the bullet was lead. He swung around a concrete column, bringing up his auto-mag and firing a trio of anti-vampire bullets. Two missed. One hit Ralik in the leg, the silver and mercury blowing a chunk out of his thigh. Ralik let up his fire a moment, growling and rebalancing as the leg started regenerating. He returned fire.

Matthew started for another column, again blocking bullets with his shield. Some got through, but the lead bullets had little effect on him. Ralik's leg healed, and he started moving to drive Matthew away from his cover. Matthew fired another trio of rounds, finishing the magazine. All missed, but the distraction was enough time for him to reload.

More gunfire pierced the fire. Roland had stood, shouldered his SAW, and started firing. Ralik was surprised by the silver bullets hitting his exposed back. He turned to attack Roland. Matthew didn't give him the chance. He aimed and fired, emptying the auto-mag's magazine into Ralik's damaged back. While not as powerful as Alucard's pistols, Matthew's 44-magnum rounds, through sheer number, broke through the armor plate and hit Ralik in the heart. The vampire fell to his knees, slowly collapsed, and dissolved to ash.

Roland stepped out, his arm now wearing a simple bandage. Matthew spoke. "The rest of your squad made it out?" He sidestepped any seek of gratitude for saving Roland. 'Probably one of the last things that man wants to do.'

"Yes," Roland replied, "most of them. I've lost three. The rest should be linking up with second squad."

Armen's voice came over the headset. "Status reports."

"Carter here. Second squad intact. Have joined with remaining first squad members. Continuing sweep."

Matthew keyed his headset. "Matthew here. Heavy hitter silenced. Awaiting further orders."

Roland was next. "Roland here. I was separated from my squad, but I'm fine. Awaiting orders."

Armen came back. "Matthew, any sign of additional Global Fangs?"

The Hellsing vampire was silent, allowing his senses to stretch out. "Nothing I can feel, sir."

"Understood. Platoon, return to the surface. Second platoon is making a final sweep. Good work today, people."

Armen signed off. Matthew let the slide of the auto-mag go forward, dropped the hammer, and slid it back into its holster. He started from the room. As he pulled his backpack back on, Roland passed by. He went about ten paces up the hall before stopping. "Jemeth," he said, "thanks." He continued on, not waiting for a reply.

'First words he's said to me without prompting,' Matthew noted. Really, he should've been thanking Roland for the help… but that would have to wait.

Thankfully, the trip back went smoothly, and even gave time for Matthew to do something he'd been neglecting to do. Once the Vultures had finished transporting the wounded, Matthew joined one of the last groups of troops to head back to Diamond base. He settled back and stretched out with his mind, soon finding the one he was looking for. 'Hey there,' he said through his mind.

The reply came swiftly. 'Matthew! I was waiting to hear from you.' It was Seras.

'Sorry 'bout that. Got a little busy after I got here.' He felt relaxed. Seemed he always felt relaxed when talking to Seras, mentally or verbally. Must've been the whole master / fledgling thing. 'Just got done with mission number two, actually.'

'Two missions already? Things must be worse than we'd heard.'

'In a way. Breka is around, though we haven't encountered her yet. We crushed one of her bases, but they responded by attacking one of ours. We just drove them away. Took losses, but we got at least most of them.'

'Good to hear.' He could hear her chuckle lightly. 'Good to know you're making a good name for us.'

'Would I do any less, Master? Umm… I mean… Sorry.' Yeah… She didn't like being called Master. Matthew mentally slapped himself, wondering where that mistake had come from. 'Oh, and ask Alucard if he knows a vampire named Ralik. Wanted me to pass a greeting. Won't mean a lot, since I silenced him.'

'What grade?'

'My scale, high. Alucard's, maybe a D.'

'Don't pick a fight you can't win, all right?'

He smiled. 'Will do, Seras.'

The remaining Silver Base personnel were brought back to Diamond Base. It would be a little while before the base could be rebuilt. Richard called Armen, Waltrin, and Matthew to his office. They gave their reports. In total, they'd lost six people, not including Silver Base personnel.

Richard listened to the reports. "I need to get in touch with the Silver Base staff, find out how they made out. Matthew, I want you to get some sleep. I have an important mission for you, and it starts tomorrow."

"What is that, sir?" To him, backing up the troops seemed the number one priority.

"The Global Fangs have vanished. I want you to find them."


	9. Chapter 9

Another disclaimer addition. I don't own The Matrix either.

And to keep this note in where it was originally placed, I have no intention of pairing Seras and Matt. I've got other ideas in mind for the both of 'em. For more details, read Demon Force and Strong Blood.

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Matthew placed his gear in the Vulture's equipment locker. It normally wasn't used, as troops generally carried their weapons so they could leap out as soon as they hit the ground. Armen climbed into the Vulture behind him. Matthew turned around to face him. "Well," he said, "fancy seeing you here, Lieutenant."

"It's still just John, Matthew. And I'll be coming with you to keep in touch with Richard. Roland's got the platoon for now." He took a seat, opening his laptop computer.

"I've got our flight plan logged and ready. We'll pass over that first base, then start toward Gold Base."

"Sounds good." Matthew closed the locker and took a seat. Somehow, it felt strange to sit there without any of his weapons. Strange, but good. 'My life is constant war. I need a vacation...'

The Vulture shuddered, quietly lifting from the floor and through the ceiling to the dark sky above. "You sure we've got to do this at night?" John asked. "Means I don't get to help watch for anything. And they get to move around."

"Yep," Matthew replied. "Daylight might keep them from moving a lot, but it would also kill move of my chances in finding them. It's the UV radiation: blocks my 'spidy-sense'."

"Understood."

As they flew, the two talked. Not about anything in particular and certainly not about work. John asked Matthew about his life before being turned; who he was and what he wanted to do. Matthew told him about his family, his girlfriend, his college hopes and ideas for beyond. He sighed, realizing how all his plans and dreams had been crushed that one night three years before.

The Vulture reached the first Global Fang base. Matthew peered out the window, stretching out with his senses and trying to get some reading from it. After a minute, he shook his head. "No," he reported. "No trace. Send in people to look for info. No vampires or ghouls."

"Got it." John ordered the pilot to continue on. Diamond Base was in Indiana, Silver Base in Ohio. Gold Base was over in North Carolina. The Vulture streaked along, only pausing to let Matthew scan a Global Fang base. Still nothing. No feeling they had been there.

It was strange. Matthew would have figured there would be a residual sign of their presence. There was nothing, just empty buildings. Almost like... "Wait, go back," he said. "I'm gonna check it out on foot."

John ordered the Vulture back. "You sure?" he asked. "You seemed pretty sure."

"I think I'm being jammed."

A few minutes later, armed with his brownings, Matthew watched as the Vulture lifted off. He was still sure the base was empty, but better to be safe. He approached a central building, something between an office and a mansion. No vehicles sat outside and no lights were lit. Matthew would be relying on all his vampiric enhancements. He climbed the steps to the somewhat ornate door, making sure his brownings were loaded.

Matthew entered the building and felt as if passing through a force field. Once inside, Matthew could feel his senses return. He could feel the presence of vampires and ghouls around him, or more accurately the 'former' presence. They had fled many hours before. Matthew carefully swiped the darkened base, checking every room and many computers. Indeed, there were no vampires here, but there was still a lot of ground to cover.

The Vulture met him outside the office / mansion. He shook his head when he entered. "Yep," he confirmed, "no one there. No useful information, except that I'll have to actively search every base."

The craft proceeded to Gold Base. While Matthew was only minorly affected by the sun and his new decision would take him inside with every stop he figured it was better to stick to the plan. Gold Base was identical to Silver Base. He figured it was a regional headquarters. Over the horizon was the Atlantic Ocean, the sun's rays already playing over the surface of the water. The Vulture dropped down after the pilot received permission to land. Slowly, the Vulture fell through the access door and into the underground hanger.

John and the now disarmed Matthew exited the Vulture, the pilot and co-pilot following. Matthew looked around the hanger. It was smaller than Diamond Base's hanger. Four Vultures sat to one side, one being inspected. Florescent lights lit the area, and spotlights illuminated the DPSD seal on one wall. It showed the United States, stars indicating base locations and a silver shield in the center. Matthew gathered that Silver Base's hanger had once looked like this one. The latter two started for the flight crew side room, while John and Matthew walked up to the waiting base commander. The commander, an older Army Colonel with a few wrinkles and much gray hair, extended his hand. John took it. "Sir," he said.

Matthew was next. "Greeting, sir."

"Welcome to Gold Base. I'm Colonel George Bekmen."

"Lieutenant John Armen." He gestured to Matthew. "This is Matthew Jemeth, Hellsing Organization attaché."

"I heard of your mission from General Wallace. How does it go?"

"Slowly," Matthew reported. "The Global Fang found a way to jam their bases from me. I need to search them all on foot. It'll take longer, but that way there's no doubt. I think we have..." He looked at John. "Three?" John nodded. "Three bases to check tonight, then we stop at Ruby Base for the day."

Bekmen nodded. "Best of luck to you both."

"Thank you, sir," both replied.

"You've been assigned quarters for the day. See Sergeant Vargman at the door. He'll take you to them. Dismissed."

That night set the trend for the next week. Every night as the sun set the refueled Vulture would take them to supposed Global Fang strongholds. Matthew would go in and determine if they had been there, then search for anything useful if they had. Anything they found was wired to Diamond Base for analysis. Then, they would find a DPSD base to hide out during the day, and start up again the next night. John and Matthew had been able to spend a fair amount of time talking, and were quickly becoming friends. It made the time between targets easier to manage. There had been a fair number of bases, but few had contained a significant number of vampires and ghouls. Good news; they hadn't been too strong.

That routine changed during one night of search. As they swung around target bravo 5-9, Matthew's eyes snapped to the window. John looked up. "What?"

"There's something down there this time. I'm sure of it."

John looked at him, nodded, and hit the comm. "Pilot, land now."

Soon after, the fully loaded Matthew Jemeth stepped off the Vulture, which lifted off back into the sky. He looked over the base. Not much to it, just a house and a warehouse. The presence he felt was from the warehouse. He started for it, drawing his brownings. The house was unlit, dead to his mind. The warehouse he could sense. It had no windows, so he did not know anything about the interior. But someone was there. The jamming made it impossible to determine who.

He opened the door, his eyes quickly adjusting to the lit warehouse. There wasn't much inside, mostly empty boxes and a forgotten forklift. But he soon knew what had drawn him here...

...And he was standing in the middle of the room, swords drawn. Paladin Alexander Anderson.

Matthew felt something surge within him, but it wasn't fear. Actually, he didn't know what exactly it was. However, he suddenly felt stronger. This was more than 'Alucard mode'... But he had no time to dwell. Matthew stepped into the light. "Mr. Anderson," he said in a good impression of The Matrix's Agent Smith, "how good of you to show up. I was starting to think you'd never get here." Well, Matthew hadn't known the Paladin would come to the states, but there was no reason to let him know that. He switched back to his normal voice. "Seriously, what happened? Get tired of loosing limbs to Alucard?"

Anderson chuckled, giving Matthew an insane smile. "Ah, yes, Alucard. Ya don't have him to protect ya this time, vampire. May God forgive the Americans for allying themselves with you. Desperation can lead to foolish decisions." He pointed his swords at Matthew. "By destroying you, I save them. Prepare for an eternity in Hell, vampire."

Matthew holstered his brownings, then ran his hands under his backpack straps and let it fell to the ground. He pulled out his shield, drew the auto-mag, and tossed it to his right hand. Then, he drew Amenthyl. He made a pair of experimental loops, then touched the sword's tip to the concrete floor. He drew the blade around him, the metal making sparks off the floor.

In his normal voice, he said, "Bring it, Mr. Anderson."

Anderson started by throwing a series of swords. Matthew was ready. He sidestepped, blocking swords with his shield and parrying them away with Amenthyl. Reaching a steel beam to the ceiling, he set a foot against it and pushed hard, launching himself across the room. He traded several close blows with Anderson, but all his and the Paladin's attacks were blocked. He landed in a roll, coming back to his feet. Extending his right arm, he aimed and fired the auto-mag. A trio of bullets crossed the space between, one landing in Anderson's shoulder. A sword thrown by the paladin in the lull sliced a cut along Matthew's flank.

The Paladin charged, one sword extended one held high. Matthew brought his sword and shield up to block them, then made a fast low slice. Anderson hopped back, avoiding the blade. "Well, at least you're puttin' up a fight this time, vampire. God must be givin' me a little test this time."

Matthew caught Anderson's next attack on his sword and shoved him away. "Don't mind me hoping you fail, Mr. Anderson."

He simply laughed, as if the very idea of him failing his Lord was ridiculous. He launched another attack, swiping at Matthew and throwing a sword at him.

Matthew stepped back, falling over another sword Anderson had thrown which had stuck into the ground. He was uninjured, but he suddenly heard many swords flying in all directions. He got back to his feet, feeling the onset of a headache. Almost as an afterthought, Anderson had spread his holy writings around the room. Matthew could only rely on his physical enhancements now. He was half tempted to call in John... 'No. If Hellsing's troops can't stand up to him, John can't either.' No, he had to defeat the Paladin on his own. And he had to do it fast.

Matthew closed the distance, ignoring the slowly healing wound in his side. He and Anderson traded ferocious attacks, each trying to score a hit on the other. Matthew saw an opening and bashed the Paladin's head with the pommel of Amenthyl. The big priest went down. Matthew aimed the auto-mag, sending a pair of bullets into Anderson's leg.

Anderson stood shakily. His wounds were closing faster than Matthew's. The vampire had to move fast. Matthew charged again, ignoring the pain of a sword bouncing off his shield and making a slice in the side of his head. Didn't hit the skull. Not worth worrying about. Matthew made a low slice, cutting Anderson's shin in half. Anderson fell to a knee, then made a final lunge attack that pierced Matthew's torso. Matthew stepped out of range, shooting Anderson in the elbow. The Paladin fell to the floor. Matthew sheathed Amenthyl, then reached into his pocket for a rag. He pulled the sword out of his himself and threw it aside. "It's over," Matthew said, "for now. And what the DPSD does and how it chooses to run its mission is none of your business. Get out of my country." Without another word, Matthew turned and left, grateful to get outside and away from Anderson's damned Latin papers.

He made for the house, slinging his gear back into place. It was your garden-variety country home; two stories, front porch, wood panel sides, chimney, etc. He threw open the wooden door and made a search. Once through the 'jamming field', he could feel that there was something important in the house. He moved quickly, in cave Anderson decided to have a round two. Searching an office room, he noticed a computer and many books. The books were useless to him, but the computer might have something. He powered it up, finding it wiped clean. But on the floor behind the desk laid a solitary 3.5" floppy disk. He reached down and grabbed it, knowing it was what he was supposed to find.

Matthew signaled the Vulture and started for the door. The aircraft waiting nearby when he exited. He jogged to the open door and the craft lifted off into the air. "Found what you expected?" John asked.

He shook his head. "Not really. But I found this." He handed the disk to John, who stuffed it into his laptop.

John scanned the disk, then looked up at Matthew with a smile. "This is exactly what we needed. Pilot, come to bearing 180 and punch it. Let me know when we reach Wyoming." He flipped off the comm. "That disk had info on a fall-back position, a central HQ. Should be somewhere in Wyoming. Not too horribly far, so we'll check it out before returning to Diamond Base."

An hour or so later, the Vulture started a gentle bank, bringing the Global Fang base into view. Matthew's eyes were suddenly and quickly drawn to the window. He stared at the base. "Yeah... Oh Hell yeah... That's the place, all right." They were in Southern Wyoming, over the Rocky Mountains. The base was below them, nestled between a pair of smaller rises of rock. It tried to look innocuous, looking more like a typical school than a vampire stronghold, but Matthew's senses knew better. He grabbed a pair of binoculars. They with their night vision plus his enhanced eyesight gave him a plain as day view of the ground below. Comparing it to the school it was trying to be, it was about mid-size, with entrances in each direction. He could see a garage 'wing' during one sweep, and one of the mountains nearby appeared to have a covered entrance wide enough to take a small aircraft. There were a few separate buildings; guard posts most likely. He couldn't read anything from underground, but it could have been due to his distance from the base. There were some outside lights on, illuminating parts of the grounds.

John moved to the window, taking a look at the base. "You're sure?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah. My senses are going wild. Something big down there. It might be Breka... I hope she's not there when we attack." Satisfied, he leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. For some reason, combining vampire eyes with binoculars hurt.

John looked at him. "Why not?"

He sighed. "If Alucard considers her a grade B vampire, she'll probably tear me apart."

"What about that one from a week ago?"

"Grade D, maybe. Nothing compared to Breka, but I still had a tough time." He shuddered. "She's got all the speed, agility, strength that comes with being a vampire. Near instant regeneration, and a lot more smarts than that guy did. She knew to back off and build up her strength before taking on Alucard."

He gave a light chuckle. "Think he'd join us for the battle?"

"Possibly. If we find we need him, I'll get word to Seras, my partner back at Hellsing. If anyone can convince Alucard, she can."

The Vulture turned away and streaked off, heading back to Diamond Base.


	10. Chapter 10

"So, we know where they are and that their strength is reduced. Attacking now would be unadvised as long as Breka is present." Armen had just finished his brief to Richard and General Wallace along with the Bravo company staff. Matthew stood nearby, not wanting to sit.

"That's no longer an issue, Lieutenant. Breka and a number of her forces have left the country," Wallace replied to Armen. "Radar images showed an aircraft left the base, though when we showed them to the operators they had no recollection of it. Only Breka has the power to erase that memory from so many people. We aren't sure where she went, but that is the next problem to solve. For now, we're going to hit the Global Fangs with everything we can." He turned to Richard.

Richard nodded. "Yes, sir." He stood and moved to a United States map. All DPSD bases were highlighted, as was their target. "The closest DPSD base to the target is Emerald." It was in Colorado, a short flight south of their target. "We'll move both companies out there over the next day and attack tomorrow night. The remaining Silver Base troops will defend Diamond in our absence. Emerald's Alpha Company will accompany us, though they'll be renamed Charlie for this op. All our other bases will be fully manned, in case there's a counter attack or this is a ploy to draw out our forces."

Waltrin raised a hand and was recognized by Richard. "I didn't think we had enough Vultures to move both companies with a full load that far." Normally, it took one Vulture to move a single fully loaded squad any appreciable distance.

"With the remaining Vultures from Silver Base, we do now. That and the techs claim they've been working on them over the week. Boosted the range by half again. We'll go standard loadout for heavy combat op. For now, just move your people. Gear will go in later flights. We'll make the final plan once we're on the ground. Jemeth, you'll be with Alpha Company first squad. Stick with us at the start. If you decide to break away, let us know."

"Yes sir," he replied.

Richard continued. "Each company will have a chunk of ground to cover. We're surrounding the target as much as possible, but this'll be a tough op." He gave the group a final look over. "Make sure your troops are packed and rested. We attack tomorrow night."

Diamond Base entered a state of ordered chaos. Orders were passed down the chain of command to each squad member. The DPSD troops started gathering their gear, minus weapons. With such a relatively light load, two squads easily made the trip from Diamond to Emerald in a single Vulture. Matthew helped keep things organized acting as a runner between John and his squad leaders. He caught one of the last Vultures over, wanting to stay near his weapons. Not that he didn't trust the DPSD, but he felt a little possessive of his gear, especially since the loss of Valkyrie.

He spent the last chunk of day before the final briefing away from the others. While those from Diamond Base were used to his presence, those from Emerald Base became nervous around him as soon as they realized what he was. Wearing his Hellsing jacket didn't help any. He met up with John just before the briefing. John sat with his platoon. Matthew, as usual, stood to one side.

General Wallace gave the briefing. As he entered, all stood at attention. "As you were," he said. Once all had sat, he started. "We've located the Global Fang's main base. Their leader has left them, so the time for our attack has come." He held up a small remote and clicked its button. A screen lowered behind him and a projector showed a map of the area. Emerald Base was highlighted, as well as the Global Fang base. Automatically, it zoomed in on the Global Fang base. "This is where we're going. We don't know much about the base." The central building was approximately a square 'U' shape with a concrete courtyard between the wings. The open part was to the east. Matthew's read gave it at least one belowground level. Nothing was known about the interior. Four smaller buildings sat a hundred feet away from the base in compass directions, possibly guard posts. "We're uncertain of what you'll face in there, so we're loading for bear: three companies with all the gear they can carry. Heavy combat op loadout."

Wallace highlighted one wing of the base. "Bravo company, you'll attack the southern wing. Charlie company," Emerald's Alpha company had already been told they would be Charlie, "you'll attack the northern wing. Alpha company, you'll attack the front entrance. For those of you who don't know him, we have a Hellsing agent here." The General gestured to Matthew, and all those present looked. He couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious, pulling himself to attention. "He is Matthew Jemeth. He is a vampire, but that only makes him a stronger ally."

"We'll be attacking tonight, as you all know. I want the Global Fang problem wiped from the United States by morning. Our country is counting on us, people. Are there any questions?"

Charlie Company's leader raised a hand and stood when called on. Introducing himself, he asked, "Why are we attacking at night, sir? Any target vampires would be more active and better able to defend themselves."

"A good question. One thing we're actually hoping on is for them to exit the building and attack. If you take them out before entering the building, you'll have less to deal with once you're inside."

"Thank you, sir." The man sat.

Other questions asked about transport to and from the target, security of the Vultures, and what to do if the whole thing was an ambush. Matthew felt that a few questions were staged, to keep the troops paying attention. General Wallace was ready for each question, and it felt more like a part of the briefing than a Q&A. Finally, no further questions were asked. The room was called to attention. "Company commanders," he said, "take charge of your companies, and get them some chow. We gear up in an hour."

"Aye, sir!" replied each company commander.

As the troops ate, Matthew headed for one of the access tunnels. Being where it was, Emerald Base didn't have the same above ground structure as Diamond Base. It had few lifts or hatches connecting it to the surface, opting for tunnels instead. He needed some time away from the others, away from the nervousness. So, he left the base and walked in the growing twilight. The sun was setting, the sky becoming bright orange and painting the landscape varying shades of light and dark. Emerald Base was up in the mountains, like their objective that night. There were few trees at that altitude, allowing Matthew a good view of the local area.

He knew he needed to clear his mind before the coming battle. That or focus it. He knew one excellent way to do it. Matthew reached into his mind, opened a link, and gave a mental 'tap on the shoulder'. 'Hey Seras. You there?'

He could feel a relieved smile from her. 'I'm right here, Matthew. It's good to hear from you. I was trying to get in touch with you earlier, but you were concentrating so much I couldn't get in.'

'I think I know what you're talking about. Or more accurately who. No worries, though. I sent him packing.'

A mental nod came from Seras. 'Yes, we heard about that. Is everything all right over there?'

'Yeah,' he replied. 'We're getting ready for a big op, but the troops are mostly relaxed. Can't give you anything else quite yet. How about back there?'

'Almost back to normal. Seems the Global Fangs have pulled out. We're back to our routine, just waiting for your report.'

'Well, I can give you some news. Berka has left the States. We're not sure where she went.'

'Hmm… I'll mention it to Walter and Fargason, see what they can find. Oh, and Alucard told me about Ralik.'

Matthew's attention became more focused. 'What did he say?'

'Only that Ralik was 'a piece of scum' he'd dealt with in the past. Apparently, he'd been hoping to silence him eventually, but it seems you doing it was good enough for him.' She gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. 'Seemed he agreed with the idea that he was a low grade vampire, but he congratulates you.'

'That works. More than I expected, I must say.'

She paused, then chuckled. 'Probably, yes. Hold on… We've got a mission. I have to go. Good luck, Matthew.'

'To you as well, Seras. I'll see you when I see you.' He felt the connection fade. As he'd hoped, it again calmed him down and allowed him to think on the coming mission.

John appeared from the main building. "Hey, Matt! We're getting ready to move!"

"I'm coming!" Matthew called back. He jogged to the door.

Matthew and John moved to the newly expanded armory, Alpha company gearing up for the mission. Matthew slung on all his gear, knowing he would quite probably need all of it by the end of the night. He knew he had nothing to fear from Alpha company. They'd worked with him, and knew his abilities. They would trust him at their backs. Roland… Hard to tell what he was thinking, but Matthew didn't sense the same amount of anger from him.

By platoons, Alpha company started for the hanger. A dozen Vultures sat there waiting for them. Each squad boarded a Vulture and waited for the others to do the same. Within fifteen minutes, the Vulture's quiet jet engines whined and the craft started to rise from the hanger floor. The pilot turned the craft in place, aiming for the opening tunnel. The twilight / starry sky shown beyond. "Let's move out," John said to the pilot.

Their Vulture led the way out of the hanger into the rapidly darkening sky, the other eleven Vultures falling into formation behind them. They cruised along at four hundred miles per hour, making the trip across the state line and to the enemy base in just over half an hour.

Matthew had watched the sun set as they flew, feeling his headache vanish as the bright light left his face. He felt his powers return to him. Verifying their location, he ran the next part of the mission through his head. They'd slowed to about 200 MPH in preparation to separate. The Vultures carrying Charlie company would swing around to the far side of the base while Alpha's Vultures swung to the right. Bravo would fly on straight ahead to their landing zone. As the Vulture banked, he watched as the members of first squad roused from their relaxed states and start checking their weapons one last time. Matthew cocked his two brownings, lowered their hammers, and slid them back in their holsters, then did the same for the Auto-mag.

As they neared the base, Matthew stretched out with his senses and turned John. "Yep, it's confirmed. Breka is gone."

One of the troops, a marine before joining DPSD, overheard and said, "She probably heard we were coming." That got a chuckle from those paying attention, cutting done the anxiousness that had built up over the last few minutes.

The Vulture swung in low, slowing to a stop. Both doors slid open, and first squad leapt from the craft. As they formed up with the rest of first platoon, the Vulture swung away, heading for its holding position. Matthew noticed John was still there. "Sir?" he asked, back in professional mode.

"Figured I'd do what the marines do and lead from the front. We may need all the morale boosters we can get." John started moving the platoon toward the Global Fang base a half-mile away. It felt like a much shorter walk. They approached the crest of a small rise, and beyond lay their target. Some of the building's windows were lit, as were all four guard posts. No lights shown across the ground; vampires wouldn't need them to see intruders. A few rocks of varying size, from a soda can to a small car, littered the area. John ordered the troops to hold up. "Matt, anything you can do?"

"Not sure," Matthew replied truthfully. "I don't know how skilled they are, so I don't know if I can hide from them. And I certainly can't hide all of us. Hell, they probably already know we're here." He concentrated a moment. "But I don't feel like we've got guns trained on us."

John nodded, acknowledging the report. "Then we do this the old fashioned way. Platoon, form up by squads and head for the nearest guard post. Stay silent as long as possible, and try to use rocks for cover. Try to maintain radio silence. Open fire if fired upon. Once we get to the guard post, we'll secure it and move on. Move out."

Each squad picked a slightly different route toward the guard post. While Matthew wouldn't call what happened an ambush, the Global Fangs had definitely seen them coming. The guard post doors flew open, a number of vampires moving out while ghouls shuffled along after them. Bullets whizzed by Matthew's head. The DPSD troops responded instantly. Their silver plated bullets were far better aimed, finding their targets and sending several vampires and ghouls to the ground in piles of ash. Muzzle flashes from others parts of the base showed Alpha company wasn't the only one surprised by the Global Fangs.

An alarm pierced the air, and more enemy forces exited the main building to join in the fight. A few vampires managed to get behind the DPSD formation. John suddenly realized one was behind him. He turned, drawing his sidearm… but the vampire fell to ash before he could fire or it could attack. John turned again, seeing Matthew holding one of his brownings. They exchanged nods, then returned to battle.

Matthew chased after one especially fast vampire, soon finding himself separated from first squad. The DPSD squads had separated, spreading across the base to take out as many vampires and ghouls as possible. Matthew started back toward the guard post, breaking into a run as he saw several members of second squad lying dead.

He rounded the corner to find a feeding vampire. The vampire looked up, his mouth red from his now interrupted meal. He hissed, reaching for his gun. Matthew didn't give him the chance, firing several rounds from his brownings. The vampire dropped in a pile of ash. Matthew ran to see who had been attacked…

It was John.

John, strong ex-SEAL that he was, was still alive. He'd taken a couple bullets to the gut, and he had a pair of holes in his neck. He wouldn't be alive for a lot longer. "John… just hang on. I'll get help."

"No," John said. "I'm done for, Matt. That vamp got a lot of my blood before you could pop him." He gave a grave chuckle. "Almost ironic, Matthew. I'm going to ask you, a vampire, to kill me."

"How about a friend?"

He considered that, giving a slight nod. "That works. Good luck. Kill that bitch Breka and send her to Hell where she belongs."

Matthew pulled one browning. "Thanks, John. I will. Enjoy your rest." He aimed at John's forehead, closed his eyes, and fired. When his eyes opened, John was dead… but he would stay that way.

Matthew knelt beside his friend, dropping his backpack and sword / shield frame to the ground. He closed John's eyes, then took off his Hellsing jacket and draped it over John's head. "I still think you would've made a great Hellsing."

He pulled his gear back on over his black t-shirt, feeling a new rage build within him. He hadn't known John long, but he had been a great soldier and an excellent ally… and his only friend at the DPSD. Now, not only was John dead but Matthew had been the one to kill him. He had killed a human being… someone would pay for forcing his hand.

He reached down and hit his radio, breaking radio silence. "All troops, this is Matthew Jemeth. I'm going in. Alone. Give me cover. Out." Not waiting for a reply, he grabbed the headset and belt pack and threw them at the guard post wall. They fell in pieces. He again drew his brownings and sprinted for the main building. Several vampires got in his way. They weren't there for long. He entered the Global Fang base, DPSD troops continuing the battle against the vampires and ghouls leaving the base.

Matthew strode through the halls, the few Global Fang forces remaining inside taking positions to stop him. Matthew took aim and fired, walking straight ahead while allowing his guns to train on his foes. He passed side corridors, aiming without looking to silence yet more vampires and ghouls. The few that attacked from behind were met by mercury charged silver bullets fired over Matthew's shoulder.

Suddenly, he holstered his brownings and drew Spitfire, continuing through the base to the one strong vampire he sensed, continuing on with the single-mindedness of a golem. Spitfire filled the air with its "Braap" as Matthew cut enemy ranks down, always walking toward his target.

Little of his surroundings registered in his mind. His vampiric senses were in full force. All he sensed was his targets and the path he needed to get to the final one. His normal senses took over once he neared his destination. He swung Spitfire back into its railings, dropped the backpack and sword / shield frame to the ground once more, and drew his Auto-mag. He approached an office, punching its doors off its hinges. The door flew to the far wall. He walked in, quickly analyzing the room. Book filled shelves lined one wall with a large United States map on another. On the far side, a large Global Fangs symbol. In the corner was a large wood desk, various trinkets decorating it with a stack of possibly reports in one corner.

Sitting behind the desk with his feet up was Matthew's target.

The vampire was very relaxed. He wore boots, jeans, and a button down shirt. On his head was a wide-brim hat. Not like Alucards; more like a cowboy hat. He read reports, ignoring Matthew. Without stopping once he'd entered the room, Matthew pointed his Auto-mag at the vampire's head and waited.

Finally, the vampire reached up and lifted the brim of his hat. He had blond hair and bright red eyes. Matthew's eyes burned with rage, his face set in 'angry neutral' mode. "Well," the vampire said with a southern drawl, "'bout time you showed up." He tossed the reports aside and stood. At his hips was a pair of revolvers, possibly Colt Peacemakers. 'Old West' guns. "Though you're not quite who I was expectin'."

Annoyed, Matthew said, "Yeah, yeah, so I'm not Alucard. Do I look like I give a shit?"

The vampire gave a slight headshake and chuckle. "Nope." He started walking around the desk, Matthew's Auto-mag following. "You actually gonna shoot that thing?"

"Eh, in a minute. Why don't you draw? Make it interesting."

"Fine." He pulled his revolvers, keeping them aimed at the floor. "But if you want things to be interestin', I don't need these." He chuckled… and vanished.

Matthew scoffed and started trying to scan the room with his vampiric sense. "Hmm… Invisibility. Nice parlor trick."

"It works for me," the vampire said, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once. "You might not like it too much, though." A pair of shots rang out, the vampire's silver-plated bullets cutting across the flesh of Matthew's right arm. Matthew scowled and returned fire, finding nothing but air. The vampire laughed. "Too slow, Hellsing."

"I'll figure it out." Matthew felt something to his right, turned, and fired. "First time fighting a coward who hides in the shadows."

"Goading will get you nowhere." Another pair of shots. These crossed Matthew's leg. He ignored the pain as the wounds started regenerating.

Normally, fighting a foe like this one would leave Matthew frightened, overwhelmed, and calling Alucard and Seras for help. This time… Matthew fired another shot, taking out a damaged shelf of a bookcase. He paused, now holding the Auto-mag to his side. "Want to know another difference between me and Alucard?"

"Sure," he said. "So ahead."

Quickly, Matthew aimed his Auto-mag over his left shoulder and pulled the trigger. The vampire howled as his left hand detonated, his gun falling to the floor. Matthew spun around and shot the now visible vampire's right hand off as well. "Alucard likes it when his targets get cocky. I don't." Before the vampire would do anything else, Matthew put his last two bullets through the vampire's left leg, trapping him on the floor. The Auto-mag's slide locked back. Matthew let it run forward, released its hammer, and slid it back into its holster.

"So what now?" the injured vampire asked. "Gonna silence me?"

Matthew shook his head. "No. Right now I owe you some pain for a friend of mine," he said, his voice suddenly very dark. He walked over to the vampire, his face in a look of truly hellish rage. He pulled his right arm back high and brought it down, aiming his fist at the vampire's face.

…But it was no fist that struck.

Instead, a trio of claws sliced through the vampire's skull. He fell to the ground in pieces, dissolving to dust.

Matthew's shock killed all his rage. He brought his hand to eye level with a gasp… but all was normal. He looked at this right sleeve, which was ripped to shreds. 'My arm morphed… like Seras did…' He felt the equivalent of a slamming door in the back of his mind, and at once all the rage and surge of power died with it. It began to dawn on him. His demon, all his dark power, had been escaping. Slowly, it had leaked out from where it had been kept, past all the 'mental blocks' he'd placed to try to stop it. Matthew had gotten his first real taste of what power he had… and he was terrified. But then was not the time to be terrified. He buried it deep and continued his mission. He looked down at his fallen foe. "I guess you got lucky…"

Walking over to the desk, Matthew found an intercom to the rest of the base. He pushed its button, activating the system. "All troops, this is Jemeth. Primary target silenced. Repeat, primary target silenced. I'm coming out."

The combined strength of the three DPSD companies had been far more than the remaining Global Fangs could handle. When Matthew exited, the DPSD already had a team ready to move in and gather all the information possible. Somewhat mentally subdued after the battle, Matthew just found a seat in a Vulture and stared out the window, leaving the troops to celebrate their victory.


	11. Chapter 11

The DPSD troops of Diamond Base were flown home overnight. Before leaving Emerald, Matthew joined Roland in reporting to Lieutenant Colonel Richard. They gave a thorough report of the battle, Matthew informing Richard of Armen's unfortunate death. No one was blamed. In the end, the mission was a success. The Global Fang threat was, if nothing else, significantly reduced.

As he left, Roland spoke up. "Hold up a minute." He'd followed Matthew into the corridor.

Matthew did so, looking at the black man. "Something I can do for you?"

"Yeah. Could you listen for a sec?"

Matthew nodded. "Of course."

Roland sighed. "I wanted to apologize for how I acted when you got here. I only saw another vampire, not a possible ally."

Matthew raised a hand. "Roland, it's ok. I understand completely. Now if you'd gone and shot me, we'd have a bit of a problem."

"Please, let me finish." He hadn't chuckled at Matthew's attempt at humor. "I saw what you did for John. Wish I'd gotten there in time to save him, but you got to him first. I was thinking you'd turn him, but you respected his wishes. I wanted you to know you've got my respect, and that of everyone here. If we ever need help, we'll call Hellsing first. When you catch up with Breka, or if you ever need help, give us a call."

Matthew nodded. "Will do." He extended a hand. "Until next time."

Roland took it and shook. "Until next time."

Ten minutes later, Matthew was in his room packing. With his mission complete, he had no business in the United States. 'At least,' he thought, 'no authorized business.'

Another thought came. 'But you saved your home. Isn't that enough?'

He answered it. "What's the point in saving home if I can't see it?" He paused, sighed, and resumed packing.

Matthew had finished writing a letter to John's family, having offered to write it during the debriefing. He'd said that while he'd only known John for a short while, he knew John to be a superb soldier and a great friend.

He got back to backing. A flurry of questions assaulted him as he worked. How close had be been to loosing control back there? How had his demon found a way to slip into his normal thoughts? Would it try to take over again? Would it succeed? That first taste of the power he possessed… "Now I understand Seras's reaction," he noted aloud. He would try to keep a mental eye on it, ensure it didn't escape from its mental corner again. 'What else can I do?'

His thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected ring. He walked over to the telephone, grabbed the receiver, and held it to his ear. "Jemeth."

"A call for you, sir," a voice replied.

"Put it through." He had no idea who would be calling him, but as the phone clicked to change lines he knew he would find out momentarily. "Jemeth," he said again.

"Ah, it's good to hear your voice, Mr. Jemeth. I trust all is well?"

"Walter!" Matthew finally smiled. "Great to hear from you. What's the word?"

"First, I was calling for an update."

"Ah, of course." Matthew sat at the desk, leaning back. "The mission itself was a success. The Global Fangs are pretty hurt right now. Breka got away. The DPSD are gathering intel now."

"So Ms. Victoria told us. We've linked with the DPSD computers. When they know anything, we will."

"Good to hear." He looked at his bags. Everything was nearly packed. "Well, I'm pretty much ready to come back. Just need to grab a few more things and find a flight."

"Yes, about that. I spoke with Sir Integra. She said for you to take your time."

Matthew paused. "What?"

"Mr. Jemeth, you've served the Hellsing organization with unwavering dedication for three years. Go see your family. You've earned it."

He was suddenly curious why Sir Integra would allow that… More accurately, he wanted to ask "Where is she and who replaced her?" 'Best to not look a gift horse in the mouth, Matthew,' he thought. Walter had probably mentioned the idea and the merits of it. "Uhh…," he uttered, "thanks."

"You are welcome, Mr. Jemeth. Now, I have duties to attend to. We will contact you when we need you. How can we reach you?"

Matthew thought a moment. "Have Seras contact me. I'll call in from wherever I am."

"Understood. Have a pleasant visit, Mr. Jemeth."

"Thanks, Walter. Take care." He waited for the click of disconnection, then hung up the phone.

It seemed someone was looking out for him once again. He took a quick look at the ceiling and touched a couple fingers to his temple in salute. It was time to do what he'd wanted to do for a long time; call home.

On a whim, he'd brought his old cell phone with him. His father had bought it for him soon after he left for college. For some odd reason, he wanted to use it. Crossing the room to his bag, he reached into the side pouch and grabbed the phone. 'I haven't charged you, but you seemed like you held a charge a long time even when you were on…' He held down the power button, and a smiled as its screen lit up a few moments later. The phone's battery had managed to hold a quarter charge. 'Could be better, but then again…' He reached further into the bag and pulled out its charger. 'When I pay attention a whim, I go all the way.' After plugging the phone into the charger into the wall he looked at it again. It had perfect reception. 'They made the base cell phone friendly. How advantageous.'

Now, he had to hope his father hadn't moved. About a year before, his ties with his family had weakened. It became painful in a way, feeling that he would never see them again. It was easier to just ignore it all. He was sending, essentially, the same e-mail anyway. "Still alive. Can't say more. How're you?" This time he got to talk, and hopefully his luck would hold. He dialed in his old home phone number and hit the green button. It rang; good sign. It kept ringing; bad sign. Right before the answering machine would've gotten it, someone answered the call. "Hello?"

Matthew smiled. His luck had held. "Hi, Dad."

"Matt?" There was a pause. "Matt! It's great to hear from you!"

"Good to hear you too, Dad. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much." Yeah, his dad was surprised at the call, but he was managing well. "Just got home from work and getting ready to work on a car. What's the occasion? Haven't heard from you in… how long has it been?"

"A long while, Dad, and I'm sorry for that. It's a rather long story… But I had a question."

"Shoot," Dad replied.

"It my old room still free?"

"Of course," he replied. It sounded like he knew what question came next.

"Then is it ok if I stop by for a few days?"

"Of course you are. Like you need to ask."

Matthew blew out his nervous tension and fell back into a chair. Even as a vampire, he was still his father's son. "Well, you know me, courteous to a fault. I just finished a mission in the States…"

"Really? What brought you so close?"

"I'll explain what I can later. But I've got from free time now. I'd like to come home. Probably land in Crystal River if I can. Made sense to talk to you first."

"You want me to pick you up?"

"Along with Mom and Kit if they can make it. I'll work out a way to get there tomorrow, give you an ETA once I know it." He paused, his smile fading. "I really need to see you guys."

Again getting straight to the point, Dad said, "What about Akira?"

Matthew paused again. "Not yet. I want to talk to you all first."

"It'll be all right, Matt. And it'll be good to see you again. I'll call your mother and Kathryn, let them know."

Matthew gave a relived smile. Dad always seemed to know when to just tell him everything would be ok. "Thanks, Dad. See you soon. Love you."

"Love you too, buddy. Bye."

He hit the red button, ending call, and felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He'd thought he'd never see his family again… and couldn't be happier to be wrong. Packing could wait a while. He needed to get a plane…

The next afternoon, he couldn't help but smile as the chartered Learjet dropped low enough over Citrus County Florida for him to recognize the area. His enhanced vision allowed him to pick out every detail.

The DPSD had been more than happy to help Matthew get home, quickly getting a hold of the Learjet that had brought him to the States and tossing his gear aboard. The flight had gone mostly according to plan. They'd picked up some tail winds and had gotten over the county a fair amount early. He would've called his folks, but as the jet passed over the area he actually spotted his old house, and saw the family minivan pulling out of the driveway.

His excitement at returning home gave him all he needed to ignore the headache. He just kept looking out the window, watching as buildings and roads passed underneath. Soon, the jet approached Crystal River and its small airport. Crystal River was one of two large towns in the county. Near one of the bays of the Gulf of Mexico, it had a number of strip malls and small medical centers, along with what Matthew and his sister had called the smallest mall in Florida. He'd seen a Learjet at the airport before, but part of him was uncertain whether or not it could stop before plowing into highway 19, a moderately busy four-lane road.

There was nothing to worry about. The pilot got the plane down, stopped, and off to the side with no problems. When the jet came to the end of its taxi, Matthew put on his sunglasses.

He climbed out of the Learjet, taking a moment to gaze at the town and think, 'I'm home.' Then, he helped a couple staff members grab his gear from the jet and put it on a cart. In his pockets were the permits for his more questionable belongings in case anyone got nosy. He rolled the cart off to the side, allowing the Learjet to depart whenever it was ready. Matthew was happy for the extra time before his folks arrived. He had something he needed to do. Grabbing a cooler from the cart, he started for the restroom. Thankfully, they were empty. He locked the door.

He walked to the mirror and looked at himself, taking off his sunglasses. For a moment, he allowed himself to think over a part of the vampire myth: not having a reflection. He chuckled. Of course he had a reflection. Light would bounce off of him just as easily as anything else. Anything else would violate simple logic. Overall, his face was the same as it had been the last time he was in the county, albeit a little slimmer. The red eyes tended to draw attention pretty well. But that wasn't his reason for looking. He pulled out his wallet, and from it pulled a piece of colored card paper. It was his natural skin tone. He held it to his cheek. "Damn," he muttered. He was too pale.

He reached into the cooler, pulling out a Hellsing blood bag. Matthew downed it, his desire to look presentable overriding his normal revulsion of blood. He went back to the mirror. Closer, but not quite yet. He grabbed another bag, downed it, and checked again. Ah, better. His skin was the right tone. After downing one more bag, he checked something else. He pressed a pair of fingers to his neck and waited a moment. "Damn," he muttered again. His heart had stopped.

Yeah, he didn't need his heart beating as he was, in fact, dead. He really didn't care. For some reason, having a pulse felt better. More natural. Maybe one day that would change, but it was not that particular day. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against his chest hard, giving himself a precordial thump to encourage his heart to beat again. It had worked in the past, so maybe again? He checked his neck again, then thumped his chest twice more. Another check, and all was well. He closed the cooler and rinsed out his mouth. Bad form to show up in front of his folks with a red mouth.

Making sure everything was clean, he walked back outside, slipped on the sunglasses, and got to the parking lot, making room on the cart to sit and wait. Before too long, the medium blue 1997 Dodge Caravan pulled into the parking lot and moved to a nearby spot. Three people exited. His father, in his late 50's, had a slightly larger build than Matthew with graying dark brown hair and mustache. His mother, shorter than Matthew, had long colored her hair red. She was in her early 50's. Kathryn, Kit for short, his older sister. They looked a lot alike, but she'd always looked younger than Matthew. Matthew's unfair advantage of being dead meant she'd 'caught up' with him.

Matthew stood, slowly walking towards them. He'd worn jean shorts and a green t-shirt, hoping to look normal. It was the closest he'd come in years. The four met half way in a group hug.

Matthew was the first to start talking, asking his family what they'd been doing over the years as they loaded up the van and started for home. Mom was back in nursing doing what she loved to do. Dad still worked at the local power plant. Kit was through grad school and was successfully making a career… as if there had been any doubt she would've made it. They avoided asking him anything, probably figuring he'd be more comfortable at home. They were right.

Home was located in a development called Pine Ridge. They'd lived there for eighteen years. Even after being away for so long, Matthew still knew his way around. That was a good thing: it was easy to get lost on the windy roads of Pine Ridge, which was larger than the city limits of Crystal River. Citrus County had managed to stay pretty rural, but Tampa's steady expansion slowly brought more people that far north.

Dad pulled the van into the driveway, Matthew noting that his father's car rebuilding hobby had not faded. He recognized three cars, those actively driven by his family. Two others he didn't recognize. "Let me guess," Matthew said, "there's a third one in the garage, right?"

"Of course," Dad replied with a smile. He brought the van to a stop. The four exited and started for the door, Matthew grabbing his 'main' bag, the one holding his clothes and toiletries. Everything else could stay. Matthew looked over the house before entering. It was a large house: four bedrooms, three bathrooms. It had been designed for five people, and had followed a "great room" ideology; a central living room with areas designated as 'dining room' and 'computer room' with a kitchen separated by a 'island' holding the sink, dishwasher, and stove / oven, all, excluding the kitchen, covered by a very high ceiling. Mom had always commented the front entryway looked too much like a mansion, and that was after telling the architects three times to tone it down. They entered through the side door, passing through the garage and into the house.

Passing the laundry room and walking down the short hall, Matthew saw his old house once again. He set the bag down in the 'dining room' and walked further in. He noticed something: a lack of dog hair. He looked at Dad. "Donnie?"

Dad shook his head. "She died a couple years ago."

Matthew nodded. "She did get a good run…" Seventeen years. Good long life for a Labrador. He sighed. "I've been away too long…"

Kit grabbed a couple sodas from the 'fridge, tossing one to Matthew. "Thanks. I guess you'd all like to know the full story."

"If you're comfortable talking about it," Mom replied.

Matthew nodded. "Well, might wanna sit down. This'll take a while." They walked to the 'living room', his family sitting on the couch. Matthew popped the soda, took a sip, set the can on the short coffee table, and sat on the table's corner. "All started three years ago…"

Dad interrupted. "Mind taking off the sunglasses?"

Matthew froze a moment. "You sure?" Dad nodded. "Ok…" Slowly, he reached up and took off the sunglasses, then looked at his family with his red eyes. They didn't look shocked.

"I just want to see your face when you speak, that's all."

Matthew smiled a bit. "I understand, Dad. So, as I was saying…"

He gave them the full story: being turned, his early days, Shalrik and beyond, pausing when needed to clarify. He told them a little about the Hellsing Organization, but only what was needed about the DPSD. Better they not know U.S. top-secret stuff. "Since that's all over with," he concluded, having just finished talking about the Global Fangs, "I've got some time off. So, here I am."

They were silent a moment, taking in all he'd said. Kit shifted to the table and gave him a hug. "Got any plans?" Dad asked.

"Some. I was going to visit Akira tomorrow. After that…" He shrugged. "Just relax around here, I suppose. Help out. I haven't gotten any true downtime in a while. How about you all?"

Matt wasn't sure how they'd pulled it off, but Mom and Kit had time to be there. They'd found others who could care for their patients. It wasn't every day a technically dead relative returned home. Dad wanted to continue his work on cars, just to keep them moving through the garage. While the exact plan on the week was still to be determined, that night they could be a family again. They relaxed, talked, laughed. When they finally went to bed, Matthew felt better than he had for years.

He walked outside for a time, the dark skies of Citrus County allowing him to see all the stars he was cheated from being in London. His mind drifted a while. Was his being happy at being home somehow cheating the mourning he should be doing for his lost friend? Being his first friend in years, it seemed John deserved more than a day of remembrance. 'Matthew, he'd be happy for you. If he can't see his family anymore, at least you get to see yours. Right?' He nodded. Yeah, from Matthew's read of John that was probably the truth. And what better to do than get back into the fight with a clear head and give the Global Fangs an extra bullet for John.

Matthew was up first the next day, slipping into the bathroom to ensure he was still the right color. Soon enough, the others awoke and Dad treated them to an omelet breakfast, like he did when they'd been under the same roof. They enjoyed being around each other again, even if they had little else to talk about for the moment. While Dad worked on cars and Kit read a book, Matt pulled his Mom outside to speak with her. He'd made a decision; one that would not be fun to carry out. A while after, Matthew stepped out into the garage. "I'm going to head over to Akira's place."

"Are you going to call first?"

"No," he said. "I'd rather break the news in person. She'll love it."

"Ok," Dad replied, erring to Matthew's judgment. "Need a car?"

"Yeah, I will. Mind if I use the van?"

Dad smiled. "You won't need the van, son." Dad closed the hood of the car he was working on. Matthew had not paid it any mind, figuring it was a fantasmigorical deal he simply couldn't pass up on. It was a gray two-door hatchback. A late 80s Toyota Corolla FX. "It's yours, Matt."

Matthew turned to Dad, smiled, and hugged him. "Thanks, Dad. But why on Earth would you get me a car? I mean, until yesterday I had no idea I'd over come home."

Dad shrugged. "There was always a chance. Besides, I figured we might be able to get it out to you in London. Difficult, but not impossible. And if all else failed, I could just sell it. Got the car for maybe $100." Dad started up the FX. It purred as he backed it out of the garage. He'd obviously seen this coming, as the other cars were already out of the way. He got out as Matthew walked over. "It's all ready to go."

"Thanks again. I'll be back in a while."

Matthew slipped into the FX's driver's seat, familiarizing himself with the car. Giving his father a wave, he backed down the driveway and started down the road, very glad he'd kept up his practice driving in England. Adjusting back to left-hand drive was pretty easy.

Akira lived about twenty minutes away in a development called Citrus Hills. Though the county was growing, it was still an easy drive. Sunglasses on, he sped down the highways and back roads to her house, set back a ways towards the center of the development. Leaving the FX on the far side of the road, Matthew started for the Nasori house. Before he was halfway across the street, the front door flew open. Akira, her brown eyes wide, mouth in a smile, and long black hair trailing behind, ran to him at full speed. "Matthew!" she yelled.

Matthew stopped, waiting for her to come to him. She jumped into his arms, hugging him. He held back from kissing her, instead swinging her around and setting her back on the ground. He remembered her desire for him to turn her three years before, and he wanted to make sure the idea was, in fact, dropped. Apparently, she knew this. She backed up and looked at him. "Matthew, don't worry. I know that was a stupid thing to ask for. The interest has completely dropped from my mind."

Relaxing, Matthew smiled, grabbed Akira in a hug, and kissed her, again happy to be home.

His visit with Akira and her family went well. While the Nasoris were a little uneasy with him at first, seeing that he was the same Matthew Jemeth as before got them to relax. Akira was on break from school and helping around the house, so he'd had excellent timing in arriving. How he'd known she would be there, he didn't know.

They watched a movie, played games, and Matthew helped out in the yard. Only one thing made the trip sour, his earlier decision. Now was the time to carry it out.

Matthew pulled Akira into her room. "There's something we've gotta talk about."

Akira nodded. "Ok." She took a seat on her bed. "What's up?"

He looked at her and sighed. "This is one of those 'better to be blunt and explain after' things. I think we need to end our relationship. I need to let you get on with your life."

She looked a little shocked at his words, but at the same time as if she'd been expecting them. "Why?"

"Aky, I'm a vampire. I'm dead. You're still alive, and it would be wrong… no, cruel of me to stay with you any longer. I've held you back long enough." He sat on the floor. "Don't get me wrong, I love you. I'm doing this because I love you." He looked at her again. "I know that probably didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I think I got the point across well enough. Can you forgive me?"

Akira was silent for a while, several tears running down her face. She finally spoke. Her voice was uneven, but she spoke. "Yes, Matthew, I can. I understand why you want to." She moved to him, giving him a hug. "I don't like the idea, but I saw it coming. I'll respect your wishes." She gave a wry smile, drying her face. "Though if I end up turned it's back on, ok?"

"Deal." He smiled back. While that was the last thing he wanted, the idea of their relationship hinging on her becoming a vampire was mildly comedic.

The next week went about the same. Matthew helped around the house, working on the yard or with dad on his latest project car. His dad certainly appreciated his being there. He was putting the engine and transmission back in, and Matthew was more than strong enough to hold things in place at angles the hoist couldn't manage. The family made a trip out to a nearby gun range, Matthew showing them a couple of his weapons and wowing his father with his new found accuracy. He also spent more time with Akira, ensuring that their relationship survived the transition back to being a friendship. He hated having to do it, but in the end it would be better for Akira to find someone else. Though he wanted to be there to see it. He had to make sure the 'new guy' was good enough for her.

Unfortunately, his time with them was far too short. Seras's call came, giving him a phone number. Matthew called in, Walter waiting. After asking how things were at home, he launched into the point of the call. "We've located the Global Fangs, and are arranging transport to bring you back. There is a flight leaving tomorrow morning from the Orlando International Airport at 8:00 AM. You will meet a contact at 6:00AM at the Delta check-in area. He will get you and your gear on the airliner. Seras will meet you at the terminal here. You gear will be picked up by others and returned to headquarters."

"Understood, Walter. I'll be there."

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Jemeth."

Matthew updated his family. They said they would accompany him to the airport. But they had time for one last night as a family. So they spoke more, watched another movie, and cooked up a fabulous dinner.

They all stood at the airport the next morning, waiting as the Hellsing contact worked out getting Matthew's gear unloaded and checked in. Matthew turned to his family. "It was great to see you all. Reminded me why I do this."

"It was good to see you too, Matt," Kit replied.

"Come back as often as you can, ok?" Mom added.

"I will. In the meantime… keep writing me. I'll be keeping my cell-phone charged and turned on. If I don't e-mail you back, prod me. Don't let me get out of touch again, ok?" He grabbed them all in a hug.

"We won't, son," Dad said.


	12. Chapter 12

The 747 pulled up to the terminal, Matthew looking across the airport into late-afternoon London. For once, he didn't wear sunglasses. Just before he got on the plane, his family had given him a gift: contact lenses. Not for correction; the vampire enhancements had fixed his need for glasses long before. These were colored lenses, giving him back his original eye color. He'd put them in before boarding the plane, happy to be freed of the sunglasses.

He felt refreshed, reenergized. He was ready to get back to the fight. He grabbed his bag and started for the door as the passengers stood to leave. It took several minutes, but Matthew soon climbed the ramp into the terminal. A fast scan of the crowd located Seras. With a smile, he walked up to her. The two started away, Matthew setting an arm on Seras's shoulder. "Hey there," he finally said.

"Well, someone's in a good mood. How was the trip? Nice eyes, by the way."

"Thank my folks. Their idea, and I like it. All-in-all, a great visit."

"Good to hear. From what Walter, Fargason, and the DPSD got, we'll need everyone in top form."

They met a car outside the airport and were driven back to Hellsing. Matthew took out the contacts and put them back in their case in the bag. No need for them now. During the trip, he told Seras a lot about his stay with his family, and the breakup with Akira. She smiled and consoled when needed. Matthew had figured that they'd have plenty of time to talk about his last mission later. The car came to a stop in front of the Hellsing mansion. The two hopped out and immediately went to Integra's office. Integra was already there, as were Fargason and Harrison. Alucard stood nearby. Seras and Matthew took their usual places.

"First," Sir Integra said, "Jemeth, tell us of the events in the United States."

Matthew spent the next while explaining all the events of his combating the Global Fangs as the sides of DPSD's troops, including the encounter with Anderson. He left out the dark power tap. It was an isolated incident, he was sure. Not worth mentioning.

Once he was finished, and with a nod from Integra, Fargason started. "The Global Fangs are in Australia. We're not sure, but we believe they're somewhere in the Outback."

"Australia?" Seras asked, beating Matthew to the punch by less than a second.

"Yes. Historically, they've had little vampire activity. Most vampires don't want to limit themselves to that size a landmass. So, there aren't much in the way of anti-vampire forces there."

"If we give them too long," Integra said, "they could turn many of the aboriginal tribes of the Outback. They could gather forces we would be hard pressed to combat." She looked at the vampires she commanded. "You three go in first. Locate the Global Fangs. Then contact us and call in additional forces."

"Understood," Alucard replied.

"Sir Integra," Matthew said, "the DPSD has offered their assistance in combating the Global Fangs as well. I'd recommend we take the offer. More help is always a good thing."

"Very well," she replied. "Contact them as well. Leave as soon as possible. Dismissed."

Matthew's gear had been brought back to base, but since they would be leaving immediately it wouldn't be taken to his room. His weapons had gone to Walter for a quick check. So, he joined Seras in walking to the armory. Alucard simply teleported there. Walter waited for everyone to arrive, and started with the elder master. "I have a new pistol for you, Alucard." Walter grabbed a gun case, set it on the counter, and opened it. Inside was a huge handgun.

"Nice," Alucard complemented. He lifted the gun. It was larger than Jackal with a black receiver and grip and nickel-plated slide.

"The Titan," Walter said. "A semi-automatic anti-freak weapon. Fifteen-millimeter bullets, standard anti-vampire rounds. Six round magazines."

Alucard most definitely approved. The pistol vanished into thin air, soon replaced by another; Joshua. "Then I won't be needing this anymore." He held it to his side, directly at Seras. "Here, Police Girl. It will serve you well."

She was startled, but took the weapon. "Thank you," she replied.

Walter turned to Seras, a pair of cases now on the table. "Your new pistols are ready as well."

"New pistols?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Seras replied. "Needed something that shoots a bit faster."

Matthew tilted his head. "Why not just carry a rifle?"

She smiled. "And look as weighed down as you?"

As Matthew chuckled, Walter pulled out a pair of pistols and several long magazines. "Wow," Matthew noted, "lots of ammo."

"They need it," Walter replied. "They're fully automatic." Seras smiled in approval, holding the pistols to test their weight. "Nine-millimeter, standard anti-vampire. Twenty round magazines."

Finally, he turned to Matthew. "I could not rebuild Valkyrie as it was before, so I salvaged what I could and build Valkyrie mark 2." He slid a case across the table and opened it. Matthew's eyebrows shot up.

Inside was the new Valkyrie. It looked like a World War II Thompson sub-machine gun on steroids. Two handgrips, shoulder stock, big barrel. There was a cutout in the receiver. Walter handed him a disk shaped magazine holding six shells. Matthew hefted the cannon and snapped its magazine into the cutout. "Your backpack can hold two magazines on an external clip. I'd recommend against keeping a third loaded. The cannon in bulky enough as it is."

"Twelve shots will be fine. Thanks, Walter. I'm sure the firepower will come in handy." He pulled the magazine out and set both down on the table. "The auto-mag worked out well, by the way."

"Good to hear, Mr. Jemeth. Unfortunately, there will be no time for you to test your weapons before leaving. However, I've heard combat can be the best time to test. The best of luck to you all."

Finding some time, Matthew swung by his room. 'Geeze,' he thought, 'I didn't even get time to unpack…' Although, he'd never been to Australia. That, at least, should be interesting. Pretty sure he wouldn't need a jacket while walking across the Outback, Matthew took off his Hellsing jacket and slung it on a chair. He reached into the closet to grab one of the few shirts remaining. It was a dark green t-shirt with the Hellsing coat of arms at left shoulder and left breast pocket. He rarely used it, simply throwing the jacket over whatever he was wearing. He grabbed a few more shirts, most the same color, and tossed them in another bag. On a whim, he changed his mind and packed the jacket as well. Slinging the bag onto his back, he jogged out the door.

He met the others outside by a waiting car. This time, Alucard would actually go with them rather than go ahead. Kinda uncharacteristic of him, but Matthew said nothing. They drove out to the airport, crossing the tarmac to a waiting jet. They'd have to make several stops on the way, but it was less conspicuous than stuffing the three of them onto an airliner. As Matthew walked up the stairs into the jet, he looked back to see the London skyline. 'Why do I feel like I won't see this again as I am now…?' He tried to dismiss the thought, but only partially succeeded. He shook his head and slipped into the jet, finding a seat and getting comfortable. It would be a long flight.

Just shy of a day later, spent mainly in mental preparations for the upcoming mission, their jet landed at Sydney Airport, staying on the far side of the tarmac away from the terminal. As they exited, Matthew saw there was no one waiting for them. "Who's the contact?"

"There is none," Alucard said. "Integra contacted the Australian government and informed them of our plans. She also asked that they not get involved. Apparently, they'd already had suspicions and were preparing to contact help."

"So what's the plan?"

"The 'Global Fangs'", he said in a very condescending manner, "undoubtedly have vampires in Sydney, if not every city in the country, watching for any forces that might oppose them. We're going to find them." Alucard led the trio away, saying their gear was already in a nearby safe house.

Matthew asked his next question. "We going for stealth?"

Alucard shook his head. "No. The Global Fangs already know we're here. Silencing their spies now will get us nowhere. They don't know our exact location, so they'll still be searching. By finding them, we'll learn where their fellows are. They are our first objective."

The safe house was a short walk from the airport, on the side furthest from the terminal. It was a room on the first floor of a nondescript apartment building. No one noticed their arrival. They unpacked, laying out their gear for the missions to come. Matthew took a quick assessment of the apartment. The front room was turning into a local HQ, communication and mission equipment taking up most table and floor space. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms. One room had a bed. The other, a pair of coffins. They were the new experimental portable ones. A quick check at the mirror told Matthew his continued intake of blood had kept his skin its correct color.

While Seras contacted Walter to inform Hellsing of their arrival, Aluard turned to Matthew. "Jemeth, you will make the first sweep."

'That's the first time he hasn't called me 'Young' Jemeth…' "You sure about that?" he replied. "You'd probably be better."

"True, but while stealth from the Global Fangs doesn't matter stealth from the local population is important. You have an advantage Seras, and even I, lack." Matthew simply raised an eyebrow. Alucard raised a hand. From an open pouch in Matthew's bag a case emerged and floated over. It was Matthew's contacts.

"Ah," Matthew replied, taking the case. "I'll get changed. Shorts and a different t-shirt. Blend in better."

He grabbed some clothes and a bag of blood, starting for one of the bathrooms. For some reason, he had to suppress a thirst when he went for the blood this time. He hadn't felt a thirst for blood since soon after he'd been turned. He'd gotten good to suppressing it. 'Must've been that power tap…' He checked his brain over, got his suppression back in place, and drank down the blood. He changed into a different dark shirt and jean shorts.

Matthew emerged ready to go. Seras rejoined them, Alucard giving her a quick update. "Jemeth," Alucard said, "inform us of what you find as soon as you are able. I'll decide if we strike now or wait for the night."

'For such a rogue, he makes a good leader,' Matthew thought. "Will do. I won't get in over my head. All I've got are my fists."

"Start at the terminal's entrance. You should be able to hide yourself well enough and sense a vampire's presence while in shade."

"Any other tips?"

Alucard smirked. "Don't get thirsty."

Soon after, Matthew started off. Through the headache, he managed to set up a sort of limited stealth around him while he prepped one piece of their gear; a folding bicycle. He carefully made his way around the perimeter of the airport, eventually reaching the terminal's entrance. He locked up the bike and walked into the shade, trying not to visibly show his relief at being out of the sun. 'One of these days, I've gotta find a better painkiller.' He found a place to sit and let his vampiric sense scan over the crowd.

No one seemed to take notice of him. He leaned back and let his mind do the scanning rather than let his eyes show they were being watched. One security guard walked up to him, asking what he was doing. Matthew's eyes opened and he smiled at the guard, lips closed of course. Matthew told the guard he was waiting for someone whose plane would be arriving before too long. He was waiting there before heading in to search the terminal. Satisfied, the guard went back inside, radioing in the report.

Sure enough, Matthew walked inside a few minutes later. He started a patrol around, staying in the central terminal. Everyone passed through here, so it was a good place for a spy to observe from. Setting his senses to 'passive mode', he walked around and waiting for the spy to search his area.

The airport was laid out as most were: a central terminal connected to other buildings which held boarding gates. A simple tram system ran between them. Matthew bought a soda and started a second slow loop.

Then, he felt it. A light pressure crossed his mind, easily reflected by Matthew. 'They sent a newbie?' he thought. Matthew quickly located the spy. He had to give the guy credit, he did blend in. Visually, that is. T-shirt, shorts, sunglasses. Matthew could sense some impatience in him. The spy had been waiting a while with no sign of the targets. Matthew kept tabs on him, again finding a place to sit and wait.

Ten minutes later the spy left. Matthew stayed a distance back, watching as the spy entered the sunlight. He didn't flinch, but Matthew could tell all his abilities had been cut. Reinforcing his stealth, Matthew started after him on the sidewalk.

The spy ducked onto a bus. Not wanting to be quite that close, Matthew quickly flagged a taxi, thanking his luck that one was nearby. They made a short trip to a residential area, the spy ducking into a small house. Matthew could sense his relief at being inside. "Take me to the airport," he told the driver. The driver stayed silent, having already figured out that Matthew wouldn't answer questions about what he was doing. When they returned to the airport, he paid the driver well.

Matthew rode back to the apartment. "Found him," he said while entering. No one answered. "Hello?" Slowly, he entered the apartment, half expecting things to be in shambles. Turned out he was being paranoid. A quick search told him the two had decided to lie down. The two coffins were closed. He sighed, then figured that three could play at that game. He walked to the other bedroom, took out his contacts, and collapsed onto the bed.

He arose some time after, having heard movement in the back. He walked to the living room, Seras joining him soon after. Alucard soon followed, now wearing his trademark smirk. "Found him," Matthew said. He packaged up all his surveillance and sent it to Seras and Alucard, letting them see for themselves.

A moment later, Alucard nodded. He looked to the window. It was dark. "We attack tonight. We'll be walking there, so conceal your weapons."

Luckily, Matthew had brought a jacket with him. While it was too warm most of the time, he'd need it. He slipped into the side bedroom and changed, pulling on the jacket and a pair of jeans, along with his auto-mag holster. While he preferred using smaller weapons, the auto-mag was the only weapon that had an under jacket holster. He returned to the living room, grabbing the auto-mag and four extra magazines. He left it uncycled, figuring there'd be time to cock the weapon before the battle. He left his contacts at the apartment, deciding the stealth they could provide didn't cover the risk in damaging them.

The plan was for a fast strike mission. If there were few enough vampires there, and they hit fast enough, they might not even have to shoot. That would be a good thing; it was in fact a residential area.

Alucard led the way out of the building, walking down the nearby sidewalk like nothing was different. Seras and Matthew took flanking positions, their eyes scanning the area for any possible targets. The trio drew pairs of eyes every now and then, but no one bothered them. It was as if they knew they wanted no part on the business of the three strange people walking through nighttime Sydney.

Within an hour, they'd made the trip to the house. It was a small place, probably a full house version of their apartment safe house. 'I've got the back,' Matthew thought to Alucard and Seras.

'I'll take the side entrance,' Seras replied.

'Then I'll take the front.' Alucard gave them a mental version of his trademark smirk. 'I'll wait three minutes then enter. Move.'

Matthew ducked into the bushes running along one size of the small property. Seras sprinted to the far side and did the same. Moments later, he entered the small, dark, backyard. The house was dark, though he could sense the vampire's presence. Strange… he could only sense one vampire there… 'What were they thinking?'

'Impossible to know,' Alucard's voice said, 'until we capture this weakling. Are you two in position?'

'Yes, Alucard,' Seras replied.

'Ready to roll, Alucard,' Matthew said.

'Go.'

Matthew silently opened a sliding glass door and slipped into the house, closing the door behind him. His eyes quickly shifted to a night-vision mode. The house was spartan. It was moments before Alucard and Seras entered the main room, where Matthew stood. They started searching side-rooms and bedrooms. Matthew was about to open a closet in the furthest room when he heard a gunshot. He stopped what he was doing and ran through the house to where Alucard stood, smoke rising from Jackal's barrel. Before him was a wounded vampire, his left leg no longer attached to his body. Seras joined them moments after.

"Where are your masters? Tell me what I want to know, and I promise to be quick," Alucard told the vampire.

The vampire was young. Matthew guessed he'd been about 20 when he was turned, not much older than he'd been. But this one had been turned all of two months. His fear was palpable, and Matthew could sense an anger in him. Certainly some of it was directed at the three of them, but there was more… He was angry at those that had turned him. He felt abandoned. He spoke. "I don't know where they are, but I can give you one thing." He gestured with his head at a nearby desk. Seras walked over and lifted a piece of paper, reading what was scrawled on it. "That's where I was supposed to go when I found you, to let them know you were here. The bastards put me here to die. They can go to Hell for all I care."

"We'll be sure they join you." Alucard waited long enough for Seras to tell him the location was good, then pulled the trigger. One of Jackal's 13 mm bullets tore through the vampire's skull. The vampire fell in a pile of ash.

Matthew looked at the others. "Am I the only one who sees this as a bad thing? Purposely putting a newbie here to be killed and give us a trail to follow?"

Alucard smirked and chuckled. "Oh, I'm certain we'll be walking into a trap."

"But what if they know you know?"

Seras piped in. "You'd better stop right there, Matthew. This argument will get circular fast."

Matthew paused a moment, then nodded. "Sorry. Probably getting worried earlier than I have to."

"More like 'undoubtedly', I would say," Alucard quipped.

Matthew ignored the comment. "So, Alucard, what next?"

"Return to the safe house, load up for heavy combat, and be ready for whatever they might throw at us."

Matthew couldn't help but smile back at Alucard's smirk. "You know what? That idea doesn't sound half bad."


	13. Chapter 13

It was still night as Hellsing's vampires neared their next target. The address was in an industrial section of Sydney, reminding Matthew of their first mission against the Global Fangs. It made sense to have a base out that far. Pick the right part, you'll find abandoned buildings with more than enough room for one's purposes. It was far out, near the edge of the industrial zone, but they'd found a number of abandoned buildings. Figuring out which one was the target, they slowly approached.

Matthew let his senses scan over the building and hesitated a moment. It wasn't the numbers that bothered him; they'd dealt with more in the past. But something was… different about them. He looked to Alucard and Seras. Seras nodded. Yeah, she'd noticed it too. Alucard shrugged. He knew, couldn't explain it either, and didn't much care. Matthew nodded back. They didn't know, but they were going in anyway so there was little point in worrying.

Their run back to the safe house had indeed been short. Matt had collected his pistols, Spitfire, and his backpack. He left Amenthyl and his shield, figuring for once the hack-happy Paladin wouldn't show. He also left Valkyrie. Somehow, a three-inch cannon felt like overkill. Seras grabbed her pistols and Harkonnen. Alucard just watched. He had all his equipment already. This time, they used an SUV the Hellsing organization had rented and arranged to have nearby to get to their target. A lot faster than walking, and they had only so much night to work with.

So there they were, standing in front of an old, rusted factory. Alucard started for the shadows and vanished. By earlier agreement, he was heading to the far side of the factory. Seras and Matthew would enter together on the close side. They each drew their pistols and closed on the building. It was dark. The moon wasn't out that night, and the lights of Sydney were too distant. Matthew could half sense, half see lighting within the building, but the outside areas weren't lit.

Seras and Matthew approached the door, Matthew grabbing the handle. He looked to Seras and saw she'd already dropped into her search and destroy mode. Yeah, it was good to be fighting alongside her again. He started up his usual mental countdown. At zero, he hauled the door open. Seras swung in, checking for targets as Matthew got his pistols out again and joined her inside. Through a combination of the low light levels and their vampiric senses, they started navigating the building. Their half of the building was the office section of the factory. Alucard was searching around the machinery. Eventually, the two split up to cover the most ground in the least amount of time, wishing each other good luck and making the usual 'call for help if you're in trouble' speech.

Matthew rounded another corner. It was almost identical to the London factory; dark, hazy windows, rust on the exposed metal, and dank, heavy air. But as Matthew entered a larger lobby area, he was about to discover just how different this night would be.

He slowly made his way around the room to another door, continuing with the search pattern. Halfway there, metal doors slammed shut at every entryway. 'A trap!' He tried kicking the door, but it barely dented. A punch to the wall showed it had been reinforced. The lights flicked on, and Matthew brought his pistols around to look for a target. There was the standard lobby furniture, but nothing else.

A light flipped on in a room above the far side doors. A man stood there, hands held behind his back. Matthew knew the man was a vampire, and a stronger one at that. Next to him was another vampire, though weaker. The stronger one smiled. "Well, well, well," he said, his accent indicating Australian origin, "look what we have here. I think you'll do just fine for our little test, mate."

Matthew looked up at his, scoffing. "Well, at least you didn't moan about how I'm not Alucard."

"His turn will come later." He started inputting commands in a control panel. "Oh, and don't bother calling for help. Won't work in here." He looked back at Matthew. "And with the reports we got from the States, this just might be interesting." He punched a final button.

On the far side of the lobby, a door swung open inside stood… Matthew looked up at the head vampire. "A ghoul? One ghoul? That's some big test? Or is it that after one comes two, then three, and so on?" He quickly checked the claim that he couldn't contact Seras. "I may not be able to call for help, but they'll find be before I'm even breathing hard."

"You sure about that, mate?"

Suddenly, the ghoul did something Matthew hadn't seen before. It… opened its eyes?

Every ghoul Matthew had fought had something in common. Well, most of them anyway. Their eyes were sunken. They were open, yes, but they were always glazed over. They relied on their vampire master for all information of their surroundings and instructions for battle. Shalrik's serum eliminated some of that weakness, allowing one ghoul to receive instruction and pass it on to others.

But this one's eyes were clear. And focused directly at Matthew. He stepped out with much more fluidity than a ghoul should have, lacking also the normal groan ghouls had. Matthew suddenly noticed a weapon on a desk at the far side of the room. It was some sort of semi-auto rifle. The ghoul grabbed it, took aim at Matthew, and fired. Matthew had been watching the ghoul, wondering why it was so different. Luckily, his mind came back to reality in time for him to leap aside. After the surprises this ghoul was sending his way, he didn't want to add silver bullets to that list.

Matthew brought his pistols around and opened fire, sending his nine millimeter anti-vampire bullets at the strange ghoul. The ghoul sidestepped, but not completely out of the way. It simply took the hit to a non-vital area and continued firing. Matthew kept moving, landing in one place and leaping towards another. He kept trying to score a hit, but kept failing. Luckily, the ghoul was faring no better.

But Matthew's problems suddenly doubled. Another of these extra enhanced ghouls entered the room. This one was armed with an MP-5. Matthew did what he could to return fire, but with so many bullets flying in his direction, all he could do was evade while the vampire in the control room laughed.

There was an explosion from the far side of the room, the security door being blown from its mounts. Seras stood there, Harkonnen in hand. She dropped the cannon, drew pistols, and entered the fray. Her twin Glocks spat out their nine millimeter bullets at full auto, taking out the rifle armed ghoul before it could move. The other managed to dodge and return fire, but Matthew was able to score a hit on the distracted ghoul. It too fell to the ground as ash and pieces.

The vampire laughed at the two of them. Matthew glared back, knowing what that laugh signified. He saw Matthew as pathetic, weak. While Matthew shouldn't have let it get to him, it did. Without a word, the vampire walked away, a metal plate sliding into place over the window. Matthew continued glaring, trying to calm his mind. Alucard joined them, walking past Matthew and to the door the first ghoul had come from. He reached out a hand, clenched it, and pulled. The door, grabbed through telekinetic force, was ripped from the wall. Alucard led the way, Seras tapping Matthew on the shoulder and following. Matthew was a few steps behind.

There was no resistance through the next few corridors. Alucard knew exactly where he was going. As usual, he had no weapons drawn yet. Seras and Matthew had pistols drawn, ready for whatever was around the next corner.

They found the target vampire. Matthew gave a mental sigh. 'Do every one of these guys have a friggin study?'

The vampire sat in the far corner behind a desk, leaning back and looking unconcerned. Though he was looking at the trio. He raised a hand, and gestured. At that command, three vampires and a several more of the new ghouls came through the door behind them. "Must say I've been looking forward to this, Hellsing scum. Fight. Information is your prize if you survive."

The Global Fang forces moved first. None leaped for close in attack, rather drawing guns. Seras and Matthew ducked behind cover. Alucard gave his standard 'bring it' chuckle, finally drawing his pistols.

Both sides opened fire.

The battle was short and fierce. Alucard ignored the shots that hit him and sent a large silver bullet at two of the vampires. Each got a new hole in his head before falling in a pile of ash. One of the ghouls managed a good shot that hit Matthew's shoulder, but Matthew dropped it and the next one over moments later. Seras's rounds took down another pair of ghouls. Bullets from both their guns met on the last ghouls while Alucard took out the remaining vampire.

They looked back at the head vampire in near unison.

He nodded. "Good show, mates." He held up an envelope, then slid it across the desk to them. "You'll find the next part of the chain there."

"Why tell us?" Matthew asked, feeling that he was his job to ask the stupid questions of the group.

"You're going to find us sooner or later."

"That's it?" Matthew replied.

The vampire merely shrugged. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things to deal with tonight. Until later." He vanished from his chair, teleporting away.

Alucard looked back at Matthew and Seras. "This next 'part of the chain' better put up a fight, or else I'll start thinking you didn't need my help here after all."

Matthew finally cracked a small smile and shook his head. 'Same old Alucard…'

The envelope's contents gave them some information, though certainly not as much as they would have liked. Their next target was the second in command of the Global Fangs, named Charlie. He was currently at a stronghold some distance outside of Sydney. From there, they would get their 'next stop'. They made a final run back to their safe house, this time packing every weapon and supply they had into their SUV. Made selection a lot easier, that was for sure.

Matthew took the wheel as they drove away from the lights of Sydney. They covered many miles in the remaining darkness, moving into the Blue Mountains. Alucard directed them off the road and into a nearby cave for the daylight hours. They could work in daylight well enough, but they would need to get rest eventually, and with another hour of driving they would be at the target.

Matthew was able to doze during the daylight hours, but he didn't get much rest. Seras did better, but Alucard was out completely. It seemed that nothing ever bothered the elder vampire. The same couldn't be said for Matthew, however. Those times he was fully awake he was running the upcoming missions through his head time and time again.

Suddenly, Alucard broke the silence. "Police girl, would you tell your fledgling to stop thinking? Some of us are trying to sleep."

Matthew sighed, leaned back, and tried switching his thoughts to something truly annoying, like small dogs yapping non-stop.

Later, as they started collecting their things to head back to the SUV, Matthew dug out a single magazine from his gear and slipped it into a pocket. Taking the wheel once again, Matthew brought the SUV back to the road in the growing twilight, starting for their target once again.

It was dark when they neared it. Having abandoned their SUV behind a ridge, the trio made their way through the brush toward the target. This part of Australia was green, as they were still close enough to the coast. It was a moonless night, so they walked to the top of the ridge with no hesitation. Alucard would keep them hidden from their foe for a little longer.

This Global Fang stronghold seemed purpose built, unlike others. There weren't exposed gun turrets or something, but there were a number of garage type doors for transports and there were few windows. All sides of the building appeared reinforced. Matthew simply grabbed the new and improved Valkyrie. Alucard smirked, chuckled, and gave an approving nod. Seras drew her Glocks, and Alucard drew Jackal and Titan. They started toward the closest door. This time where would be no splitting up. They would fight together.

Matthew slammed a ring magazine into the cannon, the first shell moving into place. They stopped about twenty feet from the door, and Matthew shouldered Valkyrie in a two handed grip. He pulled the trigger. The cannon gave it's tremendous report, a single three inch shell launching and blasting the door off its hinges… along with a bit of wall from each side. They started in, Matthew dropping Valkyrie by the door. He wouldn't need it again. He drew one browning and his auto-mag.

Alucard had done a fine job hiding them. The vampires at this stronghold had known they would be coming, but hadn't known they were there until Matthew blasted down the door. The hallway lights were on, giving the concrete floor and walls dim illumination. Heavy doors were spaced at semi regular intervals, and other corridors crossed every so often. The hallway was easily wide enough for the three to walk nearly side-by-side with room to hold their weapons out a bit. Seras covered the doors on one side, Matthew the other, and Alucard kept his down the middle.

A door opened, a vampire rushing out to identify the noise. Surprise on his face, he tried to duck back into the room. Alucard put a bullet through his head. Further up the hall, several armed vampires took positions of cover. The trio all took aim ahead and sent a veritable wave of silver and mercury at their Global Fang foes. Taking a moment to reload, they continued, shooting at targets as they appeared.

They reached an intersection. Matthew heard the 'braap' of Seras's full-auto Glocks as she mowed down her targets. "Matthew," she called as she ran out of ammo and had to reload.

Not missing a beat, Matthew swung around and took aim. He fired the remaining rounds in his browning. As its slide locked back, he brought the auto-mag around and took out the last few foes with its 44 magnum bullets. He reloaded the browning and holstered the auto-mag after hitting its slide release, then drew the second browning and continued along the hallway.

This continued for some time, Alucard directing them around the stronghold and steadily removing their foes. They approached a wood double door. Somehow, Matthew knew that beyond was a conference room. But they were expected. The element of surprise had long left them. Alucard put a bullet through the lock and kicked the door in, taking aim at the far side of the room. Seras and Matthew, pistols drawn, slipped in beside him and attacked the sides of the room.

There were many rows of chairs set up in typical conference room / auditorium style. At the far side was a low stage, a podium on one side and a computer operator's terminal on the other. A white projection hung between them. But the most prominent feature of the room was its occupants. Vampires and ghouls had been assembled to fight the Hellsing intruders.

Matthew took aim at a nearby pack of ghouls. These weren't the new 'refined' variety, just the standard ghoul. But he was sure they were armored, so he didn't spare the bullets in dealing with them. Reloading his brownings, he moved on to the next foes. Seras had switched over to Joshua; slower to take out targets, but could take each one down with one shot. Alucard simply picked off targets one at a time, taking the ones furthest away from him, as if to show off the power of his weapons.

Suddenly, loading in another pair of fresh magazines, Matthew left the group and charged headlong into the largest group of enemies. Seras yelled for him to stop, but he didn't hear her. All his focus was on his targets. The rest of the room had gone dark, the sounds of gunfire fading to dull thuds. He took out vampires and ghouls one by one, the Global Fang foes not able to even touch him let alone hurt him.

"Matthew!"

The room snapped back to normal, Matthew holding a pair of empty, smoking pistols and breathing heavily. He looked back at Seras. The room was cleared, ash surrounding them. Bullet holes in the walls were a testament to the havoc they'd wreaked. "Sorry," he calmly replied. "Went a little far for a moment."

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." That was a bit of a lie. He was really nervous about that… burst. 'Where'd my control go?'

Alucard spoke. "We'll have to split up for the time being if we want to catch our prey before they scatter." He started for the far door. "Keep in contact." And he was gone.

"Be careful," Seras said, heading for the other far door.

That left the door they'd come in through for Matthew. Most of that area had already been covered, so he started for another quadrant. The sharp snaps of gunfire told him his fellows were doing just fine. Other than the occasional vampire or ghoul pack, Matthew had few problems.

Though suddenly, that changed. A door burst open, and the master from the base on the outskirts of Sydney entered the corridor with three of his refined ghouls. He hissed, pointing at Matthew. The ghouls growled at each other, then started an intelligent multi-sided attack as the master fled.

Matthew waited until the ghouls were point-blank, then quickly holstered his brownings and whipped Spitfire around. He scythed his fire across the hallway. The ghouls dodged some of his fire, one managing to get through and slash Matthew's arm before getting a face full of silver. His arm healing quickly, Matthew set off in pursuit of the master, switching back to his brownings.

He found him a short distance away, having now armed himself with a pair of uzis. No words were exchanged this time. The opponents simply opened fire. They were in a sort of workroom, with workbenches and stools at various places around the room. They gave good cover as the two looked for a good firing position.

Matthew swung around one bench and got a lucky hit on the master's leg, injuring him but not disabling him. He ducked back as the master sent another pair of bullets his way.

Then all was silent. The two moved from one bench to another, trying to find the one they were trying to kill. Matthew moved around another bench, and his vision was suddenly filled with stars as the butt of an uzi connected with the back of his skull. He fell to the ground, rolling over to see the master aiming his uzi at Matthew's face. "Pity," the master said, "you would've done well if you'd joined us, Hellsing."

The bang of a pistol… But it was the master who turned to ash. Matthew quickly hauled himself to his feet. There, in the doorway, stood Alucard, a smirk on his face.

Normally that smirk didn't bother him. But this time it triggered a pool of rage within Matthew. Nothing came of it. Any words were interrupted. 'I could use some help here!'

Alucard and Matthew bolted for the door at Seras's call. The elder vampire led the way through the corridors to a large office type room. Tall bookcases lined one wall, and a heavy wood desk was prominent in the middle along the far wall. The rest of the room's furniture, chairs and a low table, were thrown or broken to splinters. Seras and another, a tall muscular vampire in a black t-shirt and black jeans, were locked in combat. Each danced around the room, spraying their fire at each other. Neither had scored a hit yet. But as Alucard and Matthew entered, a burst from one of Seras's Glocks hit the vampire's arm. He dropped that hand away from his weapon, an AK-47, and he let out another burst of fire that caught Seras in the leg.

The other looked up and saw he was outnumbered. He tossed of a salute. "Be seeing you," and vanished.

Matthew ran to Seras's side. Her wound had been shallow, and had already regenerated. "I'll be fine," she said before Matthew could ask.

They walked to the desk, a computer sitting atop it. A document was already up.

_Greetings Hellsing forces,_

_I trust you'll be reading this. If not, then I've wasted all this time writing it, not that I'd mind too much._

_I am Charlie. You could call me the XO of the Global Fangs. That you've come this far is good, though I'm sure Alucard knows exactly what is going on, so I'll be blunt. My master, Breka, is ready for, as she puts it, round 2. At the bottom of this message you will find coordinates of our headquarters. You can check with a map if you like, but don't think about aerial bombardment. This base within a mountain._

_Feel free to stop by. We'll be waiting._

_-Charlie_

Matthew and Seras looked at Alucard. He had his smirk on again. He's just been challenged. No vampire worth his fangs would pass it up. "This base is clear," he said. "Our enemies are defeated, or have fled. We know where they're going. I saw we follow them, let them regroup, then crush them in one quick strike."


	14. Chapter 14

"Vulture Nest, this is Jemeth, over… Repeating, Vulture Nest, this is Jemeth. Do you read, over."

Matthew sat near the mouth of the cave they'd stopped in for the night by the communications device they'd brought. It was something between a satellite phone and a radio. He had the proper frequency, but he wasn't sure about the range, any interference, or if anyone was actually listening.

The answer came fast. "Jemeth, this is Vulture Nest. Sighting?"

"Affirmative," he replied. "Coordinates, coded." He had translated meeting coordinates to a code he and the DPSD had decided on before he'd left for home. It probably wouldn't help, but it still seemed like a good idea and wouldn't add time to their ETA.

"Time?" the DPSD agent asked.

"Three days," Matthew replied. Alucard said it would take them that much longer to get there, allowing the Global Fang forces to arrive first. He still felt they should take them all out in one fell swoop.

"Understood. Will be there. Out."

Matthew hung up the microphone and started back into the cave. He paused by Seras on the way. "Your turn." She got up and started for the radio to call the Hellsing forces with the same information.

There was still time yet before they would be there, and the only big plans Matthew wondered about was the route they would take. Normally, he wanted to know ahead of time where they were going, but this time Alucard had made it clear they would be going in a rough direction. Matthew's job was to keep them on it, and follow Alucard's directions now and then for course correction or a place for the day.

That day they rested, each drinking a bag of blood before turning in. They would need their strength to be at 100 when they got there… or rather Matthew and Seras had to worry about that. Alucard… Who knew what his limits were?

They again drove through the night. They were into the outback, specifically the Simpson Desert. Sand as far as the eye could see. Matthew's enhanced vision cut through the darkness, as the moon still gave no light. There was silence in the SUV, both verbal and mental. The trio knew what was expected of them when the time came. Now was the calm before the final storm.

This continued the next couple days and night, this boring routine. And Matthew found himself in yet another cave Alucard had found, or conjured, or something. They would arrive at their target the next night, and begin the attack. As he settled in, he did another part of the routine. He pulled the auto-mag, switched magazines, and pulled back its slide to cycle the action. Putting it back in its holster, he settled back and let his mind wander.

He thought about the upcoming battle; what they would face, how he would handle it… Charlie, Breka, those new refined ghouls. Would they all come through it in one piece?

Alucard's voice cut through the silence. "Police girl, did you have to make this one your fledgling? Couldn't you have picked someone less… worrisome? I am, in fact, trying to sleep."

Matthew snapped. The constant picking had finally gotten to him, and the mix of combat and boredom had worn down his defenses too much. He stood, yelling incoherently, and drawing his auto-mag. Seras looking in horror, Alucard not even flinching, Matthew fired all seven rounds into the elder vampire. The slide locked back, the pistol empty. Matthew stood panting, glaring at Alucard, seven holes in his head and a smirk on his lips. Matthew ejected the magazine, grabbed it mid fall, and threw it at Alucard. It bounced off his forehead. Seven lead rounds were pushed from his face, falling to the dirt-covered floor of the cave. "Nice shooting," he simply said.

He gave a vexing sigh, pulled a new magazine for the auto-mag, loaded it, and reholstered it before going back to his spot on the floor. Seras was astounded, sitting and watching him for a long while after he'd finally gone to sleep.

At dusk they set out. Matthew again took the wheel. This time, though, Seras rode shotgun. Alucard sat in the back, in his own world. Seras looked to Matthew. "What happened back there?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Stress maybe… I think I need a long vacation when we're done with this."

"Count me in," Seras replied.

As the sun's light faded from the sky, they arrived at the rendezvous point. There were a number of lights set up, illuminating a small area. But they were near the Macdonnell Ranges, a mountain range a little ways north of the continent's center. The rocks would block them from detection. A number of Vultures were present, along with other transports. Soldiers, both Hellsing and DPSD, were assembling. They had not been waiting long.

The trio exited the SUV, starting for where Harison and Roland were standing over a table looking at a map of the area. They looked up as the trio approached. They each gave a nod of greeting. Harison spoke first. "We've each brought a couple squads of troops. All we could move this quickly quietly."

Roland was next. "We've also brought along enough Vultures to bring all the troops over in one shot. We also got some initial recon done." He pulled up another map with the outside walls of the base drawn on it. "We know nothing of the insides, but there are two entrances here," he pointed to one wall, then to another, "and here."

Alucard nodded sagely. He was, pretty much, in charge out there. "Seras, you will lead the Hellsing forces through this door." He pointed to the first one, then moved to the second, "Young Jemeth, you will lead the DPSD forces through this one. I will enter and…" he smirked, "have some fun."

Matthew shook his head, about to make a quip about Alucard, heavy combat, and fun when a chill ran up his spine making him shudder. He looked at Seras, seeing she'd felt it too. They looked at Alucard, guessing he might've known what it was. He nodded. "Yes. It would seem our favorite Paladin has decided to take advantage of the situation. Our 'distraction' should allow him to kill many maggot vampires tonight. His enemy is our enemy tonight. Though he will attack us if he has the chance." He smirked. "Don't give him one. Though I'm sure he will be loosing more limbs tonight."

Somehow, that didn't comfort Matthew all that much. Not that he would mention it, verbally or mentally. He didn't have any more lead bullets for his auto-mag.

"When do we attack?" he asked instead.

"Immediately," Alucard replied. "They've had enough time to gather. Much longer, and they'll reorganize."

Alucard looked at Matthew. Matthew nodded and spoke, "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen."

The group broke up, Seras sending one last "good luck" to Matthew, and Matthew giving one last reply. His gear already strapped on, Matthew walked with Roland to the DPSD staging area. He smiled a bit at seeing them. Here they were, about to go into battle against 'demonic' forces, and they were relaxed. Their morale was high, probably because they were taking the fight to the home of the forces that had given them a sore chin. Seeing Roland and Matthew approach, they quickly formed up into ranks. Roland shouted his instructions, which were pretty simple: break in and eliminate all threats.

Both teams loaded into Vultures for the short hop to the Global Fang headquarters. Alucard watched after them for a moment before vanishing into the darkness. The ride was quiet, the troops getting themselves focused for the coming battle. The Vulture touched down, its doors sliding open. Moments later, DPSD forces were assembled and moving for the base. Though there were a number of lights, no vampires or ghouls met them. Seemed they were content to wait…

…behind a rather large, reinforced, metal door. Matthew wondered if the need for stealth meant simply blasting the door down was a bad idea. He dropped the line of thought when he heard Seras's Harkonnen's blasts emanating from another part of the base. With no further delay, he swung up the modified Valkyrie, a round already in line to fire. "Fire in the hole," he yelled to the troops. He pulled the trigger.

The Valkyrie gave a deafening report, one of its three-inch shells blasting a hole in the door. But the door itself remained. 'Hmm…' The disk rotated, bringing the next shell in line. He fired again, this shot blasting another hole in the door. A third shell to the damaged seam between the doors flung them open. He led the immediate charge into the base, sliding Valkyrie to the side and grabbing Spitfire from his back.

Silver bullets flew from his rifle, joined by those from his fellow troops. Here was where the forces of the Global Fangs had been waiting. They were only slightly disoriented by the breech, and their return fire killed several of the human troops. The DPSD forces fought with great skill, finding places of cover as they advanced and kept up the fire on their foes. The Global Fangs fought with determination as well, but their recent defeats left them somewhat demoralized. After a few minutes of fighting, they started pulling back into the base.

The DPSD broke into squads, Roland leading one and Matthew leading the other. They set off through the base, breaking down every door and checking every room, all the while fighting off any Global Fang ambush that sprung at them. Meanwhile, he heard the constant sounds of gunfire, including rounds from the large pistols carried by Seras and Alucard. He had little doubt they would survive the night, but he was still relieved to know they were all right, for the moment.

It became apparent quickly that the base extended deep into the mountain. Many tunnels were carved from the rock, including at least once larger amphitheater. Dark, orange-brown rock made up the walls, with concrete making up the floor. Light fixtures had been attached to the ceiling, power cables running between them. Suddenly, Matthew stopped, his hand coming to the side of his face as he concentrated. He temporary XO, Stephens, came up beside him. "What is it, sir?"

"There are humans here… Being held by the Global Fangs… Probably for the next phase of their plans. They're Aborigines, collected from the local region. We're gotta help them. They might be turned to ghouls if the Global Fangs need reinforcements… or simply want to deny them from us."

Stephens nodded. "Of course, sir. Which way?"

Matthew concentrated on what he'd felt, and pointed ahead and right. "That way. Follow me."

"Yes, sir." He turned back to the squad. "Jemeth located some hostages. We've gotta get them out now. Move out."

Matthew led the way, the squad fighting their way through the base. The Global Fangs had apparently gone to a new level of defense, as the corridors seemed flooded with ghouls. They had been gathering all their forces in this one spot, so they certainly had enough quantity to kill the intruders. The skill of the DPSD forces would hopefully keep them alive that night.

They neared their target; something similar to a jail. They could tell from the windows that the Aborigines were still alive, but they also saw a trio of vampires walking for the entrance. They noticed Matthew and the DPSD squad, and immediately leapt for cover. A snap shot from Stephens hit one of the vampires and knocked him down. Matthew, who had switched to his brownings, fired the kill shot.

One of the vampires appeared behind them. It seemed he knew he was able to be silenced because he immediately leapt upon one of the squad members, sinking his fangs into his neck. Matthew put a bullet through the vampire's skull. In the distraction, the third vampire had approached to kill them all. Matthew spun around, putting a pair of nine-millimeter bullets into his chest. The vampire fell to ashes. He turned back to the bitten human, who now held his sidearm to his temple.

"Don't do it!" Stephens ordered. "The medics can save you! Put it down, soldier!"

"I won't become one of them, sir. I'm sorry." His face showed the steel of his resolve. He pulled the trigger.

The DPSD troops were silent, for a moment looking at the body of their comrade. "We'll come back for him," Matthew promised. He knew they would accept no less. Eulogies would have to wait, though.

It took a few minutes to free the Aborigines. Matthew, telepathically, told them all that they would be freed, but to wait a moment after the cell doors were opened. They would be taken to safety. As the opened the cell doors, a voice broke into Matthew's thoughts. 'Matthew,' Seras's voice came, 'come over here. There's something you should see.'

'I'll be there in a minute. I'll explain when I get there.' He turned to Stephens. "Escort these people from the base, then continue your sweep. Link up with Roland's squad and work with him. I've gotta meet Victoria elsewhere in the base."

Stephens nodded. "Will do, Jemeth. Good luck."

Matthew gave a small smile. "To you as well."

He left the holding area, Stephens's squad moving the Aborigines down the corridor and carrying their fallen man from the battle. Matthew had few problems moving through the base, his brownings showing anyone who got in his way what a bad idea it had been.

He saw Seras waiting in the corridor, a pistol pointed in each direction. The piles of ash and ghoul parts told him she hadn't been too bored waiting for him. "Found a bunch of Aborigines. Some of the DPSD guys are getting them clear. What've you got?"

She nodded to the door, and followed Matthew through it. Inside was a lab, complete with fume hood, beakers of liquids with a variety of colors, and books of notes. Matthew knew what this was all for, but Seras said it instead. "It's where they've been refining Shalrik's formulas, making their enhanced forces."

Matthew sighed. "All this trouble from that one damned discovery. Someone outta kill Shalrik for it."

Seras chuckled. Matthew seemed to have a knack for random comments to break tension in battle. It was a little more rare those days, but at times he could still pull one out. "For now, let's just blow this all up."

"Sounds good to me," Matthew replied. "Got something in mind?"

Seras handed him two of her exploding Harkonnen rounds and pointed to one side of the lab. He got the idea. They each set a pair of Harkonnen rounds in the room, then backed to the door. Each aiming their twin pistols, they fired.

Fire rolled through the lab, burning notes and shattering beakers sending chemicals to the floor. Once the fire cleared, all the Global Fangs had done to recreate Shalrik's formulas was destroyed. The two Hellsing vampires nodded to each other, a job well done.

'If you two don't mind, I'm about to engage Breka. If you'd care to watch?'

'We're on our way,' Seras replied to Alucard.

Seras lead the way through the tunnels of the base. They made short work of their foes, but one managed to toss an old grenade before he turned to ash. Seras and Matthew leapt in opposite directions. Both were unharmed, but the corridor between them collapsed. 'Go on ahead,' Matthew said to Seras, 'I'll meet you there.'

'Be careful, Matthew. It appears these foes have some tricks up their sleeves.'

'Of course. You too, Seras.' He picked a side tunnel and started off. The overall gunfire had lessened, meaning the Global Fangs had either been mostly killed, or escaped. But Alucard's mighty pistols kept the air alive with bangs. Matthew rounded a corner, and was suddenly looking another vampire in the eyes. The other already had his gun pointed at him. Matthew aimed and fired, and the other vampire turned to ash.

But immediately after, the vampire's shot drilled into Matthew's torso. He gave a yelp, this bullet stinging more than the usual. 'Is this what it's like to get hit with silver? Damn… The rounds I use must hurt like hell.'

That thought lasted for a fraction of a second.

Suddenly, the bullet exploded mercury, blowing out a good-sized hunk of his torso. Matthew screamed, falling to his knees as the pain cut all his strength. He looked down at the wound, seeing pieces of organs that hadn't been blown away or vaporized. He saw a few pieces of broken rib, and watched as blood oozed out of him. He could almost feel some of the remaining mercury burning one of his lungs. 'It's not healing…' he thought in a state of shock. 'Isn't it supposed to be healing?'

'What am I going to do…?'


	15. Chapter 15

Matthew, injured, sat on the floor and, with quickly growing fear, tried to figure out how to heal the massive damage. Nothing seemed to work. His abilities seemed to have been cut away from him in the blast…

Suddenly, another voice cut though. 'Jemeth, you must use your demon.'

Still in shock, Matthew started looking around. "Alucard?" he said. "Where are you? I thought you were fighting Breka."

'Of course I am. Where else would I be? Tibet? Jemeth, use your demon.'

"But I don't like it…" he moaned. "It's… dark and… icky."

'You must, Jemeth. Now!'

Alucard's sudden commanding bellow made Matthew shrink back. "Ok… ok… I will…" Matthew looked inside his mind, to where he'd locked away his dark energy and, with admitted reluctance, unlocked it. He could feel it flow through him, then concentrate in his torso. Then, he watched as the hole filled with a strange, dark red goo. As suddenly as it started, he was healed; a hole in his shirt the only sign of damage.

In the periphery of his vision, Matthew though he saw a dark form take shape. He heard a low growl… But when he turned to look it had vanished, and the dark energy had gone back to that corner of his mind. Shaken by what had happened, Matthew buried himself back in his mission. He grabbed his fallen brownings, got back to his feet, and started back down the corridor.

Matthew approached to a large double door and flung it open. He was on the second level of what appeared to be some sort of trophy room. Weapons of many kinds hung from the walls. A desk, broken, laid in the center of the room, its decorations scattered on the floor nearby. Curves staircases were on either side of him, leading to the lower level. Along the higher parts of two walls were bookshelves, but no apparent ladder leading to them. Some were damaged, their books fallen to the floor. Seras stood to one side, watching on with Joshua drawn for a good opportunity to assist Alucard in his fight.

Alucard and Breka were on the move, each holding their pistols. They had healing injuries from the last volley of bullets. Alucard gave fast looks at Seras and Matthew, and the two knew what he had in mind. Matthew drew his auto-mag, and Seras lowered Joshua from aim. The battle swung near where they stood, and they threw their large pistols at Alucard. A second pair of arms appeared, new sleeves forming in his trenchcoat. They grabbed Joshua and the auto-mag from the air, and gave him a serious firepower advantage.

A battle against a tough foe armed with four high-powered pistols. It had to be Alucard's dream come true.

Matthew didn't have long to take in their battle, as things quickly became very complicated. From another door, Charlie burst into the room. Almost instantly he was on the defensive, as Seras aimed her twin full-auto glocks at his right leg. She sprinted at him, keeping him away from Alucard. And suddenly, Matthew realized there was someone behind him. He spun around, and found himself looking straight at the insane smile of Paladin Alexander Anderson.

Matthew moved immediately, leaping in a back flip over the rail. He landed, dropping his backpack and drawing his sword and shield. Moments later, Anderson landed before him, both of his blessed blades slamming into his shield. Matthew stepped back, bringing Amenthyl through an overhead arc, blocked by Anderson. Anderson's other blade came in a horizontal slice, stopped by Matthew snapping his shield out to the right.

Seras and Charlie's fight had moved to the far side of the room, moving around a cluster of columns. Charlie's goal was to help Breka, and he took aim at Alucard when he could. Seras continued firing her glocks at him whenever he paused. He took aim again, and jumped back behind cover as more bullets ricocheted near him. He scowled in Seras's direction, knowing she was toying with him. "Bitch!"

Breka leapt to another shelf, firing another volley at the fast moving, Alucard, then leapt again as four streams of bullets came back at her. Alucard held on to the self a moment, smirking at her. "Come on, stop trying to shoot me and shoot me!" He started off after her again.

Anderson's blades crashed into Matthew's shield again as Matthew took another step back. His win last time was due to his dark energy, and he wasn't going to let it out again so soon; not until his mental shielding was back in place… and he simply didn't have the time to concentrate on them at that moment. So, he parried and blocked the incoming strikes, arcing Amenthyl at Anderson whenever the chance came to keep the Paladin from getting too frisky.

Alucard managed to score a hit on Breka, the exploding bullet taking out a chunk of leg. She managed to regenerate it before she hit the ground, and returned fire that grazed Alucard's arm. He smirked. Finally, he had the challenge he'd been waiting for.

Charlie had gotten a shot at Seras, and her minor arm wound was taking its time healing. She would manage, though. She took another shot at Charlie, her glocks spitting out a trio of rounds each. A pair hit him in the foot. They detonated, blowing his foot apart. Not nearly as skilled as Breka, he couldn't regenerate nearly as effectively. But he managed to turn his falling over into a roll that took him behind the broken desk. Seras would have to be careful how she attacked him next.

Matthew had managed to knock one of Anderson's blades away, but the Paladin simply threw the other one at Matthew and drew a fresh pair from under his coat. Anderson whipped his blades in low rising arcs, pushing Matthew's sword and shield away. He moved to chop Matthew's arms off, when Alucard landed in front of Matthew and blocked Anderson's swords with his four pistols. A properly timed smirk got Anderson's attention focused on the elder vampire when Alucard moved away, dropping the undamaged pistols and grabbing four swords off the nearest wall. The Paladin took chase, deciding to go after the more challenging foe.

Matthew got to his feet, watching as Breka landed nearby. "Well, fine," she said, irritated. "If you're going to distract my fun for the night, you'll have to replace him." She dropped her guns and reached out. From the walls, a great sword and a morning star detached and flew to her hands. She swung the great sword though an arc like a saber and brought it straight at him. It took both Matthew's sword and shield to stop it, then a great deal of luck to get his shield out in time to stop the morning star. Matthew knew he was in serious trouble.

Charlie had gotten a fast peak, seeing that Breka was in no trouble. He could focus his attention on the little bitch Victoria. He slid a fresh magazine into his Colt 45 and cycled it, then looked back at the columns for Victoria. He saw a flash of her jacket, and fired. The jacket… fell to the floor. He spun around, and there stood Victoria in a red undershirt. She fired, her bullet finding its mark in his chest. He fell to ash.

Alucard always enjoyed a battle against Anderson. The Paladin would keep fighting so long as he had the limbs to continue, meaning Alucard got all the exercise he felt like having. But that particular night he didn't have the time to give the Paladin a proper verbal thrashing before ending things. Young Jemeth would only last to long against Breka. So, he took his upper swords through high arcs, the Paladin blocking them with his blades. Before he could react, Alucard brought his lower swords up, slicing off his arms at the armpit. The Paladin winced; even as a Regenerator, loosing limbs hurt. With a final growl of, "This isn't the end, Hellsing mongrel," he loosed his holy magic and teleported away.

Matthew had done an admirable job holding on as Breka mercilessly struck at him. The cuts over his body and blood oozing from him showed his strength was failing; he couldn't hold back her attacks as well anymore. Suddenly, his sword was knocked away, sliding across the floor to the corner. He fell back, bringing his shield up in an effort to hold on until Alucard could get there. She hit it once again with her morning star, and the severely weakened shield cracked. Another hit from her sword broke it in two. It fell in pieces at his side. She smirked at him, dropping the morning star and bringing her other hand to the sword's grip. "If I see you in Hell, you can have a rematch." She brought her sword up high, then started it down towards Matthew's head.

Suddenly, Matthew's head shot up, his eyes wide open. They had turned completely black. All of his wounds were healed. Breka's sword stopped in mid swing, and she suddenly found herself unable to move. She was lifted from the ground, Matthew's eyes locked on her every move. Seras, who had just turned to help Matthew, froze in mid step with her jaw wide open. Alucard, who had been about to speed up and save Matthew yet again, came to a stop, intrigued with what was happening.

Breka's sword was ripped from her grip. It moved several feet away, spun around, and shot back, piercing through her stomach and out her back. Her face, able to move, contorted in pain. Several swords still on the wall started to vibrate, then broke free of their mountings and flew at Breka, stabbing into her from many directions. The four swords Alucard held were ripped from his hands and joined the swarm. But every sword intentionally missed the vital targets. Breka's face was even further contorted in pain. Matthew's gaze turned to one of the walls, and Breka's floating form followed. It was an external wall of the base, and Breka broke through all three feet of stone about ten feet up.

Matthew's eyes went back to normal, then rolled back into his head as they closed and he fell limp to the floor. Alucard and Seras's eyes met. Seras then ran to Matthew to figure out what had happened to him. Alucard reached out, the four pistols leaping from the floor to his hands. He turned to the hole in the wall and leapt out after Breka. She laid on the rocks in the growing dawn, most of the swords still piercing her. Alucard took aim at her heart with all four pistols. "Though you lost, I do applaud your skills as a grade A vampire." Breka scowled in reply, simply wanting him to end it. He fired, the four bullets breaking through the heart's armor plate and into the organ. She fell to ash.

Alucard rejoined Seras, who had gotten Matthew conscious and back on his feet. He claimed he would be fine, but that was the standard response of any Hellsing soldier. All the Global Fang forces were scattered or silenced, so it was time to rejoin the others for the flight back.

They walked out the front door, starting for the nearby Vultures. Matthew winced a bit more than usual. Seras looked back at him, the question in her eyes. "I'm fine," he said. "Just a little weakened from the fight. Makes it a little harder to ignore the headache." She accepted the answer, turning her attention back to a conversation with Alucard, telling each other about their separate battles.

Meanwhile, behind them, Matthew's eyes flashed to solid black, then back to normal. He fell back into step behind them, following them to the Vultures for the start of the long flight home.

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And that's a wrap for Global Conflict, though not the end of the story. I don't plan a major rewrite to this one, as I don't think it really needs it, but if I many any other upgrades I'll make note of them.

Head on over to Demon Force, then to my newest: Strong Blood.


End file.
